LETTERS 



WELSH HISTORY, 



BY 

SAMUEL JENKINS; 



TO WHICH IS ADDED MANY OF THE TRJA-DS. 



ALSO, 



A PLEA IN BEHALF OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE, 



BY 

JOHN SAMUEL. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

PUBLISHED BY E. S. JONES & CO, 
FOR THE AUTHORS. 

1852. 



t\ 



Entered, aecordiiig to Act of Congress, in the year 1S52, by 

SAMUEL JENKINS, Jr. 

In tbe Clerk's Office of tlie Diftriit Court for the Eastern District ol 
Pennsylvania. 



>^ 



, vlti^ 



■3^ 



Stereotyped by S l o T e <fc M o o n e y, Philadelphia. 
Kite i W a i. t o x. Printers. 



L^^ 



NOTICE. 'it 



These letters are offered to the public in a very im- 
perfect form, because the author has been incessantly 
engaged in the laborious duties and cares of life from 
a very early period. But he has sought for knowledge 
of every kind, nevertheless. Amidst such constant en- 
gagement he never found time to study grammar or 
the rules of composition. On these heads, therefore, 
the work will be open to some objections, but as to 
the facts and deductions he feels confident that few 
objections can be justly raised. They have already 
been subjected to the ordeal of a critical examination 
by learned Welshmen in his native land ; men posses- 
sing every advantage from their knowledge of Welsh 
history to judge of their correctness. By them thes*^ 
letters are considered to be the most correct in the 
(Statement of facts, as well as in the deductions drawn 

from these facts, of any work ever written on the sub- 

iii 



IV NOTICE. 

ject. Should the leained feel any dissatisfaction in 
the composition as to order and language, they need 
be under no apprehensions as to the facts and deduc- 
tions; these after all are the great considerations in 
the study of history. 



PEEPACE. 



Whether the Author of the following pages has suc- 
ceeded in supplying a deficiency long felt by those desirous 
of a better acquaintance with Welsh History, than they 
have hitherto possessed, must be left to the judgment of 
the intelligent among his countrymen. A pleasing amount 
of the expression of their approbation has already come to 
the Author's knowledge; and this in fact has given encour- 
agement to an incipient desire he had felt of publishing the 
work in its present form, when the " Letters " were pre- 
sented to the readers of the Christian Chronicle. The Au- 
thor is not unaware of the difficulty of his position, and 
the responsibilities he assumes in endeavouring to shed 
some rays of light upon the history of a people who occu- 
pied a high position, and exercised a commanding influence 
among the semi-civilized nations of Europe, in the most re- 
mote periods of its history — ten centuries, at least, before 
Norman, Dane, or Saxon had planted their banner upon 
Brydains freedom-loving soil. Taken from my native land 
in my early youth, my parents having emigrated to these 
United States in 1800, when I was thirteen years old, I 
have always cherished the fondest remembrance of the 
scenes of my childhood ; and even now, after the lapse of 
more than fifty years, a thousand pleasurable charms yet 
cling to the remembrance of those scenes of comparative 
innocence and joyousness. As I advanced towards ma- 
turity, I became inquisitive about everything that pertained 
to the country of my birth, and particularly its earlier hi&- 
1* (5) 



6 PREFACE. 

tory, laws, institutions, and the national characteristics of 
its people. From English historians I gathered only the 
most meagre accounts, often mere caricatures, of the Welsh 
and their history. I was dissatisfied, and resolved, at some 
future period of my life, I would give this whole subject a 
careful and thorough investigation. Years rolled on, and 
becoming absorbed in business and family cares, it is a won- 
der I did not banish every thought of the subject. The 
interest I had felt in it however continued, and having, by 
the time I had counted fifty years of age, become somewhat 
acquainted with Welsh literature, and seen the works of 
several valuable and respectable authors, such as Dr. Wm. 
Owen Pughe, Titus Lewis, David Peter, T. Charles, Bala, 
&c., &c., all bearing proof of extensive knowledge, and eru- 
dite investigation into the lore of their country's history, 
I concluded the time was come when I should redeem the 
pledge made in early life, of trying to arrive at a correct 
knowledge and estimate of my father-land, and its peculi- 
arities of feature — pr^rticularly in its government, laws and 
institutions — political, civil and religious. For the last 
fifteen years I have applied myself sedulously to accumu- 
late a stock of material requisite to draw upon when I 
should attempt, if ever attempt, to embody my researches 
in British and Cambro-British history into a tangible work, 
as at present done. Some reasons will be found in another 
place why the book appears at the present juncture. I will 
state one reason in this place. It is notorious that the 
■Catholics, with John Hughes, alias the Bishop of New 
York, at their head, are in the excess of their modesty to 
attribute the existence and origination also of all good to 
themselves, and to insist even that " Catholicity" is essential 
to the perpetuity of our liberties. *' Heaven save the 
mark." These gentry may see in the " Letters on Welsh 
History," how a people, comparatively few in numbers, and 
weak in the political scale of nations, and who never bowed 



PREFACE. 7 

tlieir.neck to do homage to the "Beast" — they may here 
see that all the germs of liberty, and of human rights, had 
been planted — had taken root and flourished in the moun- 
tains and Tallies of Wales, before even the '' Mystery of 
Iniquity" had assumed the seat of his power. And fur- 
thermore, they may learn that all the power, and subtlety, 
and machinations of the Popes of Rome never wrested 
from their grasp, nor untwined from their heart's core these 
inherent and never-to-be-too-dearly prized principles and 
rights of all men, as estimated by the Welshman. I will 
further add, by way of preface, that as there is a numerous 
progeny, descendants of Welsh parents or grand-parents, 
now found spread all over this broad continent, and their 
number will be constantly increasing, it is the fond hope of 
the author that many of these will feel an interest in this 
work sufficient to induce in them a desire to possess it, and 
hand it down as a legacy and heir-loom to their children 
and their children's children. There has never yet been 
published in the English language any thing so concise, 
and yet conveying so ample a fund of information for the 
English reader as this work will furnish. I am exceedingly 
gratified to find this opinion voluntarily expressed by 
several acknowledged Welsh scholars, to whom the work 
in part only has been submitted, in Wales, the field of its 
narrations and events. The expression of unqualified praise 
has also been awarded to the leading principles of the work 
by native-born Americans. The class of our countrymen, 
by descent, of which I have spoken above, are hardly 
aware of the high praise, and the warm growing interest 
that is felt and cherished by native Americans in reference 
to the spirit and institutions of the stock we are descended 
from. Blended with its history I Shall be able to give a 
lively and most graphic picture of these, drawn by an 
impartial hand — not a Welshman — now, and for many 
years past, a resident in the great Western valley. Not 



8 PREFACE, 

wishing to forestall the reader's pleasure by a longer pre- 
face, I beg to submit the results of many a weary hour 
(snatched from the hours usually devoted to sleep or 
recreation by the man of daily toil) to the candor and 
favorable, yet impartial judgment of my fellow-country- 
men, and of an intelligent and discriminating community. 



LETTEKS 



WELSH HISTORY. 



History is a monument erected for posterity, and 
sacred to truth, and a reverence for what appears to be 
true may be considered a sufficient apology for any 
man or number of men giving a history of a nation or 
country, the history of whom or of which may have long 
lain in comparative obscurity, or have become in danger 
of being buried in the rubbish of time. The critics will 
very probably take many exceptions to statements 
made in these "Letters," because, forsooth, they 
conflict with the statements heretofore received by 
them in relation to these ancient people, the Cymry 
or Welsh. We anticipate their objections, and will 
give them due consideration when they come before 
us. We here put in this caveat : the people of any 
nation, who have made their nation's history the study 
of their lives, may be permitted to know something of 
that history which a stranger to its language and in- 
stitutions is not likely to know. An almost universal 
reference to Tacitus and Xenophon confirms us in this 
opinion. We think that the Welsh and their language 

(9) 



10 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

strongly in point on this head. After these brief re- 
marks the -writer begs leave to offer the following 
introductory to letters on Welsh history : 



INTRODUCTION. 

The following letters on Welsh history were written 
in compliance with a request on the part of the edi- 
tors of the Christian Chronicle, a valuable weekly 
paper published in this city, and circulating chiefly 
among the Baptists. The immediate cause of this 
desire on the part of the editors, was the appearance 
of an able article in the Ciiristian Eeview, on the 
Elements of Western Character, from the pen of Rev. 
J. M. Peck, of Kock Spring, Illinois. In reference 
to the Welsh, Mr. Peck says that for all the great 
principles that distinguish the American people they 
arc indebted to the Welsh. No writer that I ever 
read has taken so correct a vioAV of the character and 
principles of the Welsh as Mr. Peck, and if he under- 
stood the AVelsh language we could not desire a better 
advocate. Moreover, coming from a native American 
there would be less cause of suspicion that he was 
biassed by national feelings and attachments. For 
myself, I can say that I am under many obligations to 
brother Peck ; and the consciousness that his object 
is "to make truth manifest" docs not lessen the obli- 
gation, for the exhibition of truth, especially in con- 
nection with religion, human freedom, and happiness, 
is of far greater importance than national honour. 

I have read a great number of histories, some of 
them expressly on Wales — others of which only inci- 
dentally mentioning something about the Welsh ; but 
in none of them have I boon fully satisfied, as it 
seemed to me that none of them understood the 
genius of the people, nor the tendency of their insti- 
tutions. The deficiency is not in the paucity of facts, 
but in the drawing of the right deductions. And the 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 11 

strength of reason is in the deductions, for the Ger- 
mans, who are indilfercnt rcasoners, are indefatigable 
in their researehos into the facts of history, and hon- 
est in their statement of facts. The keen desire to 
propagate tlieir sentiments appears in some measure to 
have l)iassed tht; minds of the great mnjority of Brit- 
ish historians, both ]<]nghsh and Welsh, for in no other 
part of the old world has there been two races of men, 
in close vicinity, whose laAvs and social institutions have 
been so diverse as those of the English and Welsh, nor 
where truth and error fought such lierco battles, 
ending in the triumph of truth. In all other parts of 
Europe error has triumplied, either by physical power 
or through mental imbecility. Britain iiloiie stands a 
monument of mental power in tlie increase of truth, 
and in Britain all the nations arising out of her are 
included. 

All the great principles of truth and individual 
rights have obtained their first establishment in Wales, 
but they have made such a gradual advance on the 
English that they nre generally supposed to have 
originated in England ; and as they first ap])0ar during 
the prevalence of I'opery, there are men of that per- 
suasion in the United States who boldly aver that they 
•arose 'out of the Papal system. 

It might be f?upposed that, Avith such an abundance 
of facts, it would be easy to write the history of 
Wales, but this is not the case, for the circumstances 
generally told of other nations have little interest in 
connection with Welsh history. War itself has a 
certain sort of interest, if the historian can muster 
several liundred tliousand men engaged in mutual 
slaughter, especially if the ovigiiuil historians have as 
much knowledge of the military art as Xenophon or 
Polybius. But the interest is lost in the contem])lation 
of a few thousand men defending themselves in the 
mountain fastnesses of Wales, and shamefully misrep- 
resented by the aggressive nation. But Welsh history 
has a great interest to certain minds, and that interest 



12 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

is in their principles. No historian I have ever yet 
read has taken what may be called philosophical views 
of the Welsh principles — those principles in which 
thoy differed from all other nations. 

During the whole of the middle ages there were two 
opposite principles at work in Europe ; these were 
truth and error. Truth was defended by the civil 
poAver only in Wales. In ;ill other parts of the then 
known world, error was armed with power, but I shall 
only notice that part of the world which lay west of 
the empire of Alexander, whicli was the proper Roman 
Empire. In the course of the fifth and sixth centuries 
the Roman Empire fell, and about ten kingdoms were 
founded upon its ruins by the Northern barbarians. 
These kingdoms were by degrees brought over by the 
emissaries of the Bishop of Rome, to adopt the 
forms and ceremonies of that system of error estab- 
lished at the seat of abominations, Rome. 

All governments have found it necessary to have 
some sort of religious notions to keep the ignorant and 
vicious within some limits, and one of the Roman 
kings had introduced the ancient' superstition through 
fraud and deception ; but it does not appear that the 
Romans ever had a definite idea of truth as an ingre- 
dient of religion. Accordingl3% when the Emperors 
became Christians (nominally,) and abolished the pa- 
gan worship, the masses of the people, having received 
some ideas from the gospel, followed suit ; and as the 
inferior gods had been banished, these besotted idola- 
ters introduced the images of saints to fill the vacuum 
in their system, and these stupid notions emanating 
from Rome, were forced upon all at the point of 
the sword ; and as truth formed no part of Roman 
religion, they adopted all sorts of imposing forms into 
their barbarous worship ; and inasmuch as their reli- 
gion was founded upon tradition and laws, the belief 
in a ncAv religion was as much a breach of law as mur- 
der and arson. This has been in all time, and is yet 
the religion of Rome. Virtually it has changed no- 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 13 

thin^ for the better since the appearance of the Son 
of God, for all the great principles of his religion have 
been nullified by the pagan element, leaving only the 
names of the saints to embellish the stolid embodiment 
of their system. In opposition to this inocuous, 
empty system, there was a body of men in Wales 
called Druids, Avho taught their people " that it was the 
duty of all men to seek after the truth, and to receive 
it against the whole world." The principles involved 
in this system of teaching are most important. There 
was an admission of the existence of a system of 
truth, or at least that there might be a system of truth 
to the exclusion of all error. It involved also the 
right of every man to receive it, for the duty always 
supposed the right in the Welsh system of ethics, the 
man himself being the judge in his own case. It 
appears, therefore, that whatever were the pretensions 
of the Druids, they did not dogmatize nor enforce 
their dogmas by the infliction of pains or penalties. 
The natural inference is that the Welsh were a people 
seeking after the truth, and it is a divine aphorism, 
"Them that seek me shall find me." Furthermore, 
the Druidical order itself derived its power from the 
National Assembly, the members of which were elected 
by universal suffrage of all the men whose beards were 
grown, and all married women of pure blood, or who 
were citizens by privilege. 

Moreover, after the lapse of eighteen hundred 
' years that the gospel has been in Wales, at the present 
day the power of the people is paramount in religion, 
nearly all their churches being Congregational in their 
order, in which all the members, both male and fe- 
male, have the elective power, the minister being only 
the teacher, and subject to the decision of the brother- 
hood, for in all matters of right, according to the prin- 
ciples of the Welsh, " in Welshman is included Welsh- 
woman." Here all the difference between the sexes is 
that the ministry is in the male sex, where it was 
placed by our Lord, for he chose all the apostles 
2 



14 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

from among his male disciples ; nor does it appear 
that the females had any share in the ministry under 
the pagan system in Wales. Nevertheless, the gospel 
views the female as man's equal in all matters of 
rights and privileges of citizenship, and such also was 
the case under tlie Welsh laws before the introduction 
of the gospel. Here, then, we have a people whose 
laws and principles of government were the opposite 
of all other nations, especially those of Rome. It is 
a fair deduction, therefore, that in these two nations, 
the Roman and the Welsh, existed from an early pe- 
riod in history the two great antagonistic principles of 
despotism and freedom. Nor is it at all diificidt to 
trace the course of these principles in their highest 
state of sublimation to these two nations. To neither 
of them, however, is the revelation of truth attribu- 
table, even as the medium, for that was revealed mainly 
through the Hebrews of Abraham's posterity, for it is 
manifest that He Avho brought life and immortality to 
light sprang from the tribe of Judah ; but such was 
the obstinacy of the Jews at the time of the advent 
of our Redeemer, that " the light shone in darkness, 
but the darkness comprehended it not." And all 
other nations, except the Welsh, had so perverted their 
reason that they failed to see the excellence of these 
divine principles so far as to give them freedom to 
combat with error. And it is well known in history 
that it was the Welsh influence that brought unre- 
strained liberty of conscience in Britain and the Ameri- 
can colonies. It was their aid to Constantino the 
Great that in a measure enabled him to break the 
persecuting pagan power in the Roman Empire, being 
himself the son of a Silurian lady, from whom he 
received instruction in the truths of the gospel, and 
no doubt in the liberal principles of her race. 

The most liberal ideas in religion and civil govern- 
ment have their greatest potency among the AVelsh at 
the present time in Europe, for the centre of Baptist 
and Congregational order, and their main strength, is in 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 15 

Wales/ How far the influence of these two denomi- 
nations, in the United States, have been instrumental 
(especially the Baptists) in bringing about American 
liberty, any man may learn by a little research. The 
superiority of the Protestant, and especially Baptist, 
principles over the Popish is apparent in the very ex- 
istence of such a government as that of the United 
States, in all that pertains to the dignity of man as a 
reasonable and accountable being ; and I cannot so 
eftectually explain the subject by any other mode than 
by giving the history of a race of men who, for a vast 
period of time, have been the conservators of these 
great principles, and the principal propagators of the 
same both in the old aild new world. 



LETTER I. 



As a desire lins been ropoatocily expressed to obtain 
more definite inCorination in re^i:;ard to Welsii History, 
tbau is ordinarily to be obtained, the autbors, in ven- 
turing upon tbo task of supplying sucb information, 
respeetfidly tlirow tbemselves ujwu tbe kind indulgence 
and consideration of an ini})artial public. 

]f tbere is any interest in^Velsb bistory, it must 
arise entirely from mental and not from pbysical 
causes: tbe \Yorkings of tbe mind on tbo subjects of 
religion and civil rights. A certain Avritcr in one of 
our daily papers a few days ago, said that perfection 
in tbe fine arts, and tbe formation of a refined taste in 
that department, -was tbe very acme of civilization. 
If tins is a correct view of what constitutes a high 
degree of civilization, tbe Welsb are yet very deficient 
in civilization. l>ut if civilization has anything to do 
with a clear insight into the nature and requirements 
of tbo truths of religion and political science, and a 
clear appreciation of the rights and duties of men in 
these premises, tbe Welsb have made some progress in 
civilization. I apprehend, however, that perfection in 
the fine arts has been attained through the intlucnco 
of idolatry, and the Welsh have never sunk so low in 
their ideas of religion as to worshi]> images. This l\ict 
may account for their want of perfection in these arts. 
Their forte has been the cultivation of the mind, and 
that chiefly in matters connected with religious and 
political science. Indeed, there is a saying among 
them, that these are the only subjects worthy of the 
human mind. 

Tbe first subject I shall treat upon, is tbo origin of 
the Welsh. They are a branch of that ju'imitive race 
(16) 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 17 

called Cimbri or Kimbri, (for this Ih tho proper pro- 
nunciation,) a people who inhabited the North of (Ger- 
many and Jutland ; which re/^ion is still culled Kirabria 
by (jerrnan writers. Our ancestors crossed the Ger- 
man sea in coming to Britain, and this event occurred 
about one thousand years before thfe birth of our Re- 
deemer. ]5ut being soon followed by more numerous 
bodies from Gaul and Jielgium, and people too in some 
respects more civilized, they were divided by the num- 
ber and pressure of these people into four districts, 
and were themselves distinguished into tribes. One of 
these tribes occupied the country on tho river Clyde, 
in Scotland ; another the counties of Cumberland and 
Westmoreland, in the North of England ; another, was 
situated in Cornwall ; there were also three tribes in 
Wales ; the Ordovices occupied the region now called 
Noilh Wales ; the Dimetians, the counties of Pom- 
broke, Carmarthen, and Cardigan; and the Silurians 
had the counties of lladrior, Jjrecon, Ghanorgan, and 
Monmouth, together with Hereford, and those parts of 
Gloucester and Worcester that are west of the Severn. 

The English writers discover sad ignorance about 
the early history of Jiritain, when they tell us that tho 
Saxons drove the ancient inhaljitants of Jiritain into 
the mountains of Wales ; for Wales was well peopled 
when tho Jiomans landed, as any one may infer from 
the stand they made against the llomans under their 
valiant Prince Caractacus. 

A correct view of the Welsh people, therefore, ia 
that they have for about three thousand years in- 
habited a mountainous district, which may be termed 
the citadel of Jiritain ; and during all that period have 
cherished certain ideas in relation to the nature of 
truth, and the rights and prerogatives of mind, differ- 
ing from all other peo{)le, except the inspired writers. 

It is not pretended, that before the introduction of 
the gospel the Welsh knew what was true religion — 
far from it ! for they worsliipped a number of imagi- 
nary beings as gods, and considered the sun, and 
2* 



18 LETTERS ON AVELSH HISTORY. 

moon, and the various constellations, as their represen- 
tatives in the heavens. Their superiority over other 
pagans, consisted in a clearer appreciation of the im- 
mutable nature of truth ; and so far as their legislation 
Tvas concerned, in leaving the important question " what 
is truth ?" an unsolved problem ; and in the fact that 
their religious teachers, even in their pagan state, 
taught their disciples, that "it was the duty of all men 
to seek after the truth, and to receive it against the 
whole world ;" and also in their adopting as their 
national motto, " The Truth against the Avorld." 

Lord Bacon was immortalized by some dissertations 
on the laws of evidence, and other matters ; and yet, so 
far as the laws of evidence were involved, they were as 
clearly developed in Wales, a thousand or more years 
ago, as they are now in England. Locke gained im- 
mortal renown by his speculations on human rights ; 
although Roger Williams had anticipated him by fifty 
years, and the same had been established by law in 
Rhode Island, under his influence. Dr. Beattie ob- 
tained the highest honors, and a pension from the 
British Government, for his treatise on truth ; and yet, 
the truth of religion had already been revealed to the 
fullest extent by divine inspiration, and all that could 
be said in relation to the rights of humanity in its re- 
ception, had been fully developed in Wales from time 
immemorial. 

In all that relates to the material world, other 
nations have excelled the Welsh, but if mind is supe- 
rior to matter, and the soul of more importance than 
the body, — and religion is superior to beef and pork, 
and the forming of mind of more importance than 
cuttino; stone and daubino; canvass, then the Welsh 
may claim to have made some progress in civilization. 

There is some error in ascribing to Roger Williams 
the first insight into the rights of conscience, for that 
subject was clearly understood by the Baptists, both in 
England and AYales, as their writings prove. The 
gospel is very clear on these points, and if any sect 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 19 

undertakes to use coercion in religious matters, it is an 
incontestable evidence that they have introduced into 
their system some principles foreign to the gospel ! 

Nevertheless, I believe the Welsh Baptists had some 
advantages over those of England, in the circumstance 
that with them it was a national as well as a religious 
principle ; as a people they had never been subject to 
dictation in religious matters, and M'hat annoyance they 
had suffered was from the papacy and the papists, 
both despised and hated ; besides which, the Welsh are 
more clear in their deductions than the English, and 
more fearless in carrying out their views. Exclusive- 
ness was understood to be a prerogative of truth, and 
every man had a right to decide for himself what con- 
stituted truth, and the duty of receiving truth, and 
acting according to its requirements, was always incul- 
cated in connection with religious teachings. Under 
these circumstances the Welsh Baptists have always 
maintained what is termed close communion, while the 
opposite practice has been advocated in England by 
many of the ablest men, and practiced in many of the 
churches; and yet the Welsh are as courteous as the 
English ; but the laws of politeness in Wales are not 
supposed to require the sacrifice of principle, at least 
not to the extent required in some other countries. 
Yet all this does not prevent the cherishing of 
Christian affection among the various denominations, 
for Avhen a Baptist Association meets with a small 
church, and in the vicinity of a rich congregation of 
another sect, or vice versa, the hospitality of the one 
people is as bountiful as the other ; the members of 
each community seem to vie with each other in their 
preparation to receive strangers. A friend of mine, 
Mr. John Hughes, was lately in Wales ; he attended a 
Baptist association, and was invited to dinner at the 
house of a rich farmer, where a table was set for a 
hundred persons, supplied most abundantly with the 
best of food. Yet all the guests they could find were 
but twenty. In the evening, the ministers stated that 



MO 



I.MTTi/iiii!i UN wi'irr.ii iimToiiv. 



(I. nilMililM' nl' |iiiii|i|m |m |)m* liKifdilMiill'lliiMil llMil Mllldn 
|ii i'|i<ii iilldii, lull niiilil iim|, lliiil II i^.|iij',lit ^in'nl, liniwiiinM 
nllii'M linil liivlloil an iiiMiiy, iiiiil n<i|iiiiMli<i| lliiil. iJiriMo 
lliiil lillil rilnlnlct ^iiltlil DmI, |.|||u> uIiIi lll<t|il Mil MIMIiy, 

I lull itJI lill/ilil Mlijiiy I till itiiiti|iiiiiv III' Miiiiin riiniiiJM IVoix 

II iJlMliilii'M, f'iilriilv lli<< ^himjikI liiiM llrt oJinniiMl 



i.K'y'\'K\i 1 1. 



Ml'lP'oiilC I /.'() ('ill lli'T Willi I.Ihi liii'.lory of Wii-ldM, I 
witili \\, i<> I'lt rli'iiily iiiHliii'hlnoil, lliiil; iny (jhj<u;t IN 
l,o f^ivt! Ui(t AiiiiinciiM pcojilo Huiiio iil(;ii. (i\ iJio origin 
of r<ili/j;ioim lilmrly, iiml Um w»yH of <<'»<l in tUo pro- 
H<u-viiUoii of llin piit'o <;liiM'(j|i ol our Rrili'iiiiKii', from 
itH (ii'htt |)iiiiiUii/i; ill .IcriiKiilxin till l.iin \t\imml iiijh- 
piciouH pinioil. 'I'lin lioiioiir of a jii^opltt iri a Hiiiiill 
iii;il,l,i;r ill Hiiclt It roniMti'lioii, liiil, iiiiiHiniicli iiH VViilnM 
liiiH |jr(!ii Llio only hpot, of itiulJi, wlioio Uim Inniiau 
iiiiml WiiM IViM) Lo acl, ii(;roi-ilitig lo ilH own uonvicUoiiM, 
pruvioiiH to tlio oKtaliliHliincjit ol* ruliuiouH i'vmiUnn 
ill tin; New VVoilil, on lliat aiujouiit itrt liirttory |»o- 
<Mit(ii!H iiiipoi'tiitit. Ami ah I <lo not wiHli tliat tlio hiili- 
jcct hIioii)"! i'(!h1)» on my tf^Mlimony alono, J will ntlor 
to that <;miiii!iit Mii).'li>ili Miitii|iiiirian, Hiiaron 'riii'niu', 
wlio iMMjuinMl tim Wclnli lii.ii/.Miiij/o lor tlio nolo puipo«rt 
of liavin/j^ a<;<:<tHiS to tli«ir amiinit n-itorilM in tim origi- 
rial I'orin. J liavo mi'M tlm tnHtiriiony of ^ovoral diMtin- 
(guiHlmil W(!lMh HcliolarH, who rtronoiirirKiil liini an tw.- 
i!OMii>liHlmil Hcholar in tlm VViIkIi laiif/ua^i!. In liiH 
hiHtoiy of the, An^'lo-tSaxoiiM, h<i hii« a loii^ rhaptor on 
Wiih'^S ill whirh ho HityH, amonpr otlii;i' niatti^iH, that 
llm VVcli-li HyHtoiii of (ithicrt wiirt tlm h(;«t tiVi-f pro(|in!<i(l 
III till) woi'hl, oxritpt thiit of tlm .lowK, conipriHctd in tlm 
Holy H<;riptiir<;H, a work ol' diviim inwpiration. Thin 
liMit in itHcir wpiiiikrt voluinoM, That a pnopln, wIioho 
aj/f/ritpratii nninhor »mv<U' yet atiain<!il ono million, iimi 
for tw'tlvo hundred yoaiM firuvioiiH to tins comnmncu- 
iiii-ui of tlm (ii|rlit(M!ntli tu:ii\\ny, did not I'XCfiul tlin?e 
hiindn-d thousand, Hhoiild in tli;i.t iiii|ioi'tiifit pai'tindat' 
(!X(;< I till; n;»t of niiinluiid. Ali,houp.'li tliirt may Im a 
Moui'i:*; ol' pIcjiHuro to nvcvy Woltthi/ian, who has th« 
power ol' mind to iipprouiato tluj hcaiitil'ul and oxccd- 



22 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

lent in morals, still it affoi'ds no ground for boasting : 
"for every good and perfect gift comes down from the 
father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, or 
shadow of turning." 

In this connection, I wish also to mention, that Mr. 
Turner expresses the fullest conviction, tliat the ac- 
count of English writers, about the driving of the an- 
cient inhabitants of England into AVales, is an error ; 
but at the same time, supposes that Wales obtained 
some accession to its population by that event. His 
judgment in this respect corresponds with that of 
every Welsh writer whose opinion is of any value. A 
want of discrimination is the glaring fault of English 
historians. In this respect they are a perfect con- 
trast to the ancient Greeks. And I am not much 
better pleased with AVelsh historians ; it is a depart- 
ment in which thoy are more deficient than they are 
in any other. I apprehend that this arises from the 
circumstance, that the English people and govern- 
ment have waged an interminable wai»upon their reli- 
gious principles, so that the ablest minds in the princi- 
pality have been incessantly engaged in religious con- 
troversy, which has thrown the department of history 
into the hands of men of inferior powers. The best 
writers in that department are Rev. Joshua Thomas^ 
who published a history of the Baptists in Wales, in 
the year 1779 j/ and Rev. Titus Lewis, who published 
a most valuable history of Great Britain, in 1808 ; 
both Baptist ministers : and Rev. David Peter, princi- 
pal of the Independent Theological Seminary at Car- 
marthen, Avho, in 181G, publislied his history of reli- 
gion in Wales — a large volume, in which he includes 
both the Druidieal and Christian systems. 

Having stated my purpose, I now resume my task 
of writing the facts of history. The second colony 
that came to Britain, Aveve the Liguriun Gauls, who 
settled on the river Thames, and built London ; and 
the third, were the Bretons from Brittany, in Gaul, 
who probably settled in the South Western Peninsula, 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 23 

now called Cornwall, including Devonshire. Both 
these races of men had some affinity with the original 
settlers, hut the latter were the nearest, as the ancient 
inhabitants of Brittany, as well as the first colony in 
Britain, had come from the same region in the North 
of Germany, and Jutland ; whereas, the Ligurians had 
taken a more southern route into Gaul, and the North 
of Italy, at an early period. These are denominated 
the social tribes of Britain. 

Next came the tribes seeking refuge. These were 
the Belgians, who settled South of the Thames, and 
extended to the Severn ; and, also, the Caledonians 
and Picts, "who settled in Scotland. Afterwards, several 
hostile nations came in ; the most noted of these who 
remained permanently, were the Coronians of York- 
shire, called by the Romans, Coritani; these last only 
landed in Britain about eighty years before the Ro- 
man invasion. The Coronians were always at swords' 
point with the Cumry, or Welsh, and united with the 
Romans, and again with the Saxons ; and I suspect it 
was their aid that gave the Saxon invasion such power 
in its early stages. There were other nations in Bri- 
tain, such as the Brigantes, who occupied Lancashire, 
and four or five other counties ; and the Cornavi, who 
occupied Cheshire and Shropshire. How absurd to 
supjyose that all these were driven into Wales. It 
appears, that when the Ligurians landed, the ancient 
inhabitants were in a very wild state, " having no law 
but custom, and no government but that of superior 
strength." 

Prydain, the leader of the Ligurians, enacted a code 
of laws, and formed a regular government. He divided 
the island into three districts, which he called Lloeger, 
Cumry, and Alban ; or, in modern parlance, England, 
Wales, and Scotland. To each district was assigned 
the privilege of royalty, but it was stipulated, that in 
case of a great emergency, a king of Britain was to be 
elected by a convention of all the States. These were 
called conventional kings. It appears very clear, that 



24 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

limited monarchy •was the hcau ideal of government 
among the ancient Britons. In this they "were infe- 
rior to the Greeks ; at the same time, in point of per- 
sonal rights, they were superior ; as no system of 
slavery, or vassalage, seems to have existed anwng 
them, at least, in JSouth Britain ; and in this I am 
borne out by Julius Caesar, who says, that the Britons 
■were more free than the Gauls ; and "we know that the 
majority of the Greeks were slaves. Another excel- 
lent feature in the British laws was the trial by jury, 
which was established three hundred years before the 
Christian era, b}"- Dyvnwal INIoelmud, the second of 
the great system founders of Britain. This personage 
was Prince of Cornwall, as generally supposed. While 
I am on the subject of legislation, 1 may as well say, 
that the third great legislator of Britain was Bran ab 
Llur, prince or king of Siluria, the Eastern district of 
South Wales, and father of Caractacus, of lloman his- 
tory ; and the fourth and last was Howell, prince of 
South Wales, a native of Dimetia, the AVcstern dis- 
trict of South Wales ; who improved and enlarged 
the ancient code, between the 940th and 048th of the 
Christian era. There are noAV extant two complete 
copies of the laws of Howell, from which an edition 
was printed some years ago. The information I had 
about prohibiting their publication was wrong, and I 
suspected as much; but was not aware till lately that 
an edition had boon jniblished. 

The sort of evidence required under these laws 
proves to a demonstration that the laws of evidence 
were well understood ; and not only was the human 
mind left free in all matters connected with religion, 
but the right of every human being to a foothold upon 
the earth was so iar regarded, that every head of a 
family was allowed the use of live acres of land, free 
of all taxes or dues whatsoever. Besides all this, there 
was no law of primogeniture : the property of parents 
was always divided among the children, the youngest 
son bcinjr entitled to the family residence, and hence 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 25 

called tlie "heir of the Oranpje." This has become a 
familiar terra in Wales for the youngest son ; I have 
often heard it applied to my youn^rest brothei-, nlthongh 
my father never owned a foot of land in Wales. Tha 
privileges of primogeniture came into being when Wales i 
was united to England, as an integral portion of the \ 
kingdom, in the year ir)44, the thirty-fifth of Henry 
the VIII.; for till that time, Wales Avas a principality 
subject to the crown, but not connected with English 
legislation. This was its state for 200 years. 

Hitherto I have dwelt on tho bright side of the 
Welsh character; but alas for human nature in its 
fallen state, in the further tracing of their history we 
shall find their character has also its shades. 

In my next I will give an account of the Roman*-, 
invasion, and the introduction of tho gospel ; that \ 
auspicious event, which brought among our ancestors ( 
a knowledge of the true God, at a time when the few 
rays of divine light, which they had retained by tradi- / 
tion, were ready to go out in darkness. 



LETTER III, 



A BiiiKF iiccouiit. will now be given of the Koman in- 
vasion of Britain in the days of Claudius Civ.sar, which 
occurred about the year forty-four or forty-live, of the 
Christian era. To meet the crisis the States of 
Britain elected Carado:^, commonly called Caractacus, 
to command their armies ; he was son of Bran (Crow), 
prince or king of Siluria, which I have already stated 
>vas the eastern district of South Wales. His father 
■was still living, woU advanced in years, but the son 
•was famed for his martial qualities. The Roman 
forces were commanded by Ostorius, and it is said 
that Caradog fought thirty battles with the Romans 
in nine years ; but it appears that he Avas not well 
sustained by the other States. Indeed, the other 
States of Britain "were so accessible to enemies land- 
ing from the continent, and so much easier overrun 
than Wales, that it was to be expected the Cimbric 
tribes would hold out longest ; after losing a great 
battle on the borders of North Wales, Caradog went 
to the country of the Brigantes, and the Queen Boa- 
dicea gave him up to the Ivonuins, thinking she would 
by that means conciliate the Romans. It was the 
duty of the Queen of the Brigantes to place the whole 
of her forces at his disposal, and it would have been 
the part of wisdom to have done so, as she had soon 
after to contend with them single handed with the loss 
of 70,000 men in one battle, and to poison herself to 
escape captivity. Sucli are the eiVocts of national 
rapacity. 

The Romans Avere overjoyed at the capture of so 
able an opponent : but there appears to be a mistake 



LETTERS ON WELSH IILSTORY. 27 

about the object of the prince in going to the Brigantes, 
as it is always said he went there for protection. Had 
that been liis object, he would have gone to his own 
country, for it is well known that tlie Silurians did 
not submit to the Romans, as the first war did not end 
till twenty-five years after the capture of Caradog. 

The Komans soon overran that part of Siluria, 
which lay between the rivers Severn and the Wye, 
whicii was the hereditary dominion of king ]5rennus, 
but the Silurian and JJimetian chieftains, who were 
allies of Brennus, did not abate in the least their 
opposition, and when the Romans followed them into 
the mountainous districts, they often hemmed in con- 
siderable bodies of their troops, and cut them oif. 
The fatigue attending this sort of warfare soon put an 
end to the life of Ostorius to tlie great joy of the 
Clumry (or Welsh.) It is generally supposed that 
Caradog was set at liberty and died soon after, for his 
father and several of the royal family werit to Rome 
as hostages for him ; but nothing more is said of him 
in history. 

While the aged prince was in Rome, he had the 
happiness of meeting some Christians there, and be- 
came a convert to that I'aith a little over twenty years 
after the ascension of its divine Author, and was the 
first king or sovereign prince who embraced the gos- 
pel. But at the end of seven years he was set at 
liberty by the emperor Nero, and returned to his prin- 
cipality bringing with him three, and some say four 
gospel ministers. 

It is probable that Brennus paid some tax to the 
Romans, as kings often did in other {)arts of the world, 
but his successors continued to bear the title of king 
of Britain till the close of the second century. King 
Brennus could not have lived long after his return, 
but as he had been one of the wisest legislators of 
Britain, there is no one who can estimate the power 
which his conversion to the Christian faith has ex- 
erted upon the world. Bcignnism could never perse- 



28 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

cute in the Roman empire after the conversion of 
Constantine, and to a people so intellectual as the 
Welsh, the example of king Brennus may have been 
more potent than the laws of Constantine to the 
Romans. Numbers of the people and some of the 
Druids were converted, and the believing Druids con- 
tinued to teach the new religion ; but so wedded were 
they to their ancient faith, that they mixed it with 
their Christianity, and the churches rejected them, 
and chose ministers who had never been connected 
with the Order. As the Druids had a monopoly of 
teaching, and by that means had the vantage ground, 
the Christians founded seminaries on gospel princi- 
ples. Here we have a noble example of a people that 
could not be led astray by their teachers ; a rare in- 
stance in the past history of the world. 

From all the histories we have, it appears that no 
restraint was ever imposed on the Christians in Wales. 
Mr. Peter says positively there was none ; but the 
Druids remained faithful to their enlightened doc- 
trines, which enjoined the duty of seeking after and 
receiving the truth. But although they never troubled 
the Christians, they continued many centuries to main- 
tain their principles. As Mr. Peter says, the sacrifices 
were regularly oifered for 1100 years after the first 
introduction of the gospel. And even later, while 
Wales was independent for about 100 years, they 
received their revenues from the princes and lords of 
Wales. King Edward the first, of England, at length 
cut off their revenues. A large portion of other na- 
tions were converted in a short time, but this liberal 
and philosophic people stood out long against the 
gospel. Still the Avork of conversion went on gradu- 
ally till the time of king Lucius, the fourth or fifth in 
descent from Brennus, mIio was the last that bore the 
title of king in that honoured line during the Roman 
occupation of Britain. Lucius is supposed to have 
commenced his reign about the year 170, and died 
about the close of the second century. As the sup- 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORT. 29 

port of religion was a part of the policy of the Welsh 
government, and poetry, and minstrelsy, and religion, 
were combined in the Druidical order. King Lucius 
placed the Christians on the same footing in that 
respect, and took much pains to disseminate the truths 
of the gospel. It appears too, that in supporting the 
cause of religion, the civil government never inter- 
fered with the regulations of the teachers of religion, 
as it is evident that all their offices, honours and 
degrees, were conferred according to the laws of each 
order. 

After the rejection of the Druidical converts from 
the gospel ministry, there was no error propagated in 
the Welsh churches till the close of the fourth century ; 
when Morgan, a very learned man, who is known in 
history under the name of Pelagius, began to propa- 
gate his mixture of Paganism and Christianity ; tnis 
heresy continued to vex the cliurclies for 120 years, 
when David, commonly called St. David, refuted the 
Pelagian doctors in a public discussion, which took 
place at Llan Ddewi Brevi in Cardiganshire in the 
year 516. The Roman pagan power raised ten cruel 
persecutions against the Christians, but none of them 
reached Britain till the ninth year of the last, which 
continued a year and a half, and as the city of Caer- 
Leon on the Usk, the capital of Siluria, was in the 
power of the Romans, we have the names of three 
persons who suflered martyrdom there, and it is said 
a larger number suflered. Constantius Chlorus, one 
of the Caesars, who had the government of Gaul and 
Britain, was not disposed to persecution, and as soon 
as he ]'ose to supreme power, (by the resignation of 
Dioclesian and Maximian Ilerculius), he stopped all 
such proceedings. 

Constantius had in his youth married Helen, daugh- 
ter of a Silurian chief, wlio was a Christian ; from 
policy, when he was created a Caesar, he repudiated 
Helen and married another lady; still his long con- 
nection with a Christian woman, from a liberal race, 
3* 



30 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

must have had much influence on his enlightened 
mind. Constantius died when he was but little past 
the meridian of life, and all his hopes of perpetuating 
his family and empire turned upon his son Constantine, 
who was then about thirty-three years of age. He 
had with great difficulty escaped from the fangs of 
Galerius, and arrived at York before his father died ; 
and as soon as Constantius was dead, the Roman army 
in Britain proclaimed his son. When Galerius heard 
it, he proclaimed Constantine a traitor, but soon after 
sent hku the purple. An incident that occui-red about 
this time probably had great influence on the mind of 
Galerius. The Welsh mountaineers from affection for 
the memory of Constantius, and respect for Constan- 
tine the son of their countrywoman, sent a powerful 
body of mounted spearmen to join his standard, and 
being joined by the Bretons of Gaul, and other Gallic 
horsemen, they formed the main strength of his army ; 
for it Avas this powerful body of horsemen that carried 
all before them in his war Avith Maxentius and the 
Komans. 

Any person who knows the respect that the Welsh 
have always had for religion and religious persons, 
and their love of war, may imagine with what zest 
they must have engaged in this expedition against 
Kome. They loved war, and always fought against 
enemies worthy of their steel ; and in the investiga- 
tion of Welsh history it will be found that when the 
Christian church was to be defended, or vengeance 
was to be taken on her enemies, there were always in 
Wales men ready to mount, what they called their 
Meirch, for their war horses were always just as nature 
formed them. When the Welsh go on military expe- 
ditions as volunteers, they mostly go on their horses, 
being exceedingly fond of horsemanship, a general trait 
in the character of people living in mountainous and 
other wild regions. 



LETTER IV. 



The next subject demanding our attention in the 
History of Wales is the invasion of the Roman Empire 
by Maximus. This Roman citizen belonged to a distin- 
guished family. The circumstances connected with 
his coming to Britain as stated in an ancient work 
are, that he dreamed of moving through the air, over 
the land and sea, till he came to an Island, and 
crossing that, he came on the farthest side to a town 
situated on an arm of the sea, in a w'ild region, and 
entering into a mansion, he saw an aged man with a 
golden band around his hcad^ and by his side was a 
young lady of the most exquisite beauty, with whom 
he fell in love. As soon as possible he sent off mes- 
sengers to search for her, who, by following his direc- 
tions, found both the prince and his daughter at Caer 
Seont, on the stream of Menai in North Wales ; being 
no others than Eudav the prince of that country and 
his beautiful daughter Helen. They made proposals 
of marriage to her on behalf of Maximus, but she told 
them it was not the business of the ladies to seek after 
husbands, but if he wanted her he must come himself, 
which he accordingly did, and they were married. 
The prince had another daughter, who was the wife of 
Cunedda, prince of Cumberland ; and a son named 
Conon, who during his father's life bore the title of 
Lord of Meiriadog, (noAV called Denbighshire.) Eu- 
dav had married Stradwen, daughter and heiress of 
the pinnce of Cornwall, and on the demise of that 
prince, Maximus obtained that principality in the 
right of his wife. 

After some years, the emperors Valentinian and 
Valens died, and the empire fell into the hands of 
Gratian and Valentinian the second ; the one a youth 

(31) 



32 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

and the other a child five years old. Gratian, finding 
himself unable to manage such important matters, 
appointed Theodosius as a third partner in the empire. 
But this ofi'ended Maximus, who being an ambitious 
man, thought the preference ought to have been given 
to him ; accordingly he raised an army in Britain of 
sixty thousand men, and with these overran Gaul and 
Spain, and crossing the Alps, (after killing the Empe- 
ror Gratian in Gaul,) he took Italy and the city of 
Rome. But the emperor Theodosius, Avho was at Con- 
stantinople, raised all the forces of the East, and 
hired all the neighbouring barbarous nations, and came 
upon Maximus and defeated his army in two battles, 
in the last of which he was killed. The remains of 
the British army made good their retreat into Gaul, 
and arrived safely into Brittany, where Conon with a 
considerable body of troops had been left by Maximus 
to keep Gaul during his absence. It was the intention 
of the British army to return home, but the people 
of Brittany gave them land, and chose Conon king 
of Brittany. This expedition occurred in the year 
387, just sixty-two years before the first landing of 
the Saxons. And yet the English writers are so 
stupid as to say that the Welsh fled to Brittany to 
escape from the Saxons. This beats the shadow on 
the dial of Ahaz, which only retreated a few degrees ; 
but the clock of time must have retreated in this case 
sixty-two years. This afi"air had a disastrous effect on 
the affairs of Britain, as it took off such numbers of 
the Welsh and Cornish, the only people who had 
courage to maintain its independence. North Wales 
was nearly depopulated by this expedition and the 
extensive emigrations which followed upon the election 
of their prince Conon to the throne of Brittany. 
Conon's descendants continued to hold Brittany for 
eleven hundred years, when the king of France mar- 
ried the Duchess Anne of Brittany, in the year 1499. 
Gaul, as well as Britain, had been long under the 
Romans, and the settlement of a veteran army in 



LETTERS ON -WELSH HISTORY. .^ 

Brittany' must have been a great acquisition, and this 
army belonged to a kindred race and settled there at 
the desire of the people of Brittany, and the Britons 
ai-e still proud of their descent from these Welsh 
warriors, Allison, in his history of Europe, says that 
Brittany has been the bulwark of the French mon- 
archy. 

After such vast emigrations, the Irish invaded 
North Wales, and kept possession of the island of 
Anglesea for twenty-nine years ; but about the year 
440 the prince of Cumberland sent his sons with some 
troops, who, uniting with the people of North Wales, 
drove the Irish from the main land, and choosing Cas- 
wallon his grandson, (whose father was dead,) prince 
of North Wales, in the right of his grandmother, the 
sister of Conon, and Ellen, wife of Maximus, he 
followed the Irish into Anglesea, and defeated them at 
a battle near Holyhead, and reduced the survivors to 
slavery, in which state they and their descendants 
continued many generations. The principality of 
North Wales was independent for eight hundred and 
forty years, during which period the people displayed 
a degree of heroism and steady courage never excelled 
by any people in the world in any period of its 
history. The defeat of the Irish took place in the 
year 443. 

Some time after the expedition of Maximus, an- 
other adventurer raised an army in Britain, and took 
France and Spain. His name was Constantino ; he 
held those regions for five years. 

The history of Britain, at this time, is an enigma. 
We hear the shouts of the Picts and Scots, the groans 
of the Britons, and the sound of the trumpet, and 
the clangor of arms all intermingled, and the English 
writers are either too ignorant on the subject, or too 
partial to give us any solution of the matter. The 
truth is, however, that as soon as the Roman power 
declined, the Welsh, or rather Cimbric tribes in Wales, 
and Cumberland, and Cornwall, put in their claim for 



84 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

a sliare of the empire. The Picts and Scots wished a 
shiire of the plunder, jind the inhabitants of the 
Roman provinces in England were the sufferers. 
These in their distress sent to solicit the aid of the 
Komans. At another time the Mountaineers would 
become rampant, and overrun Gaul and Spain, and at 
the same time send a small division of their forces to 
drive back the Picts and Scots. These latter gentry 
at one time entered Powys, one of the Welsh princi- 
palities, but were defeated and annihilated at Maes 
Garmon. This was the only time they ever set foot in 
Wales ; and yet it is evident that many of the Scot- 
tish writers pride themselves much on the story that 
their ancestors were so much braver than the ancestors 
of the Welsh, for they toll us that the Welsh were the 
]>ritons, that the Scots and Picts invaded them, that 
they sent their groans to the Romans to solicit aid 
against these potent barbarians, that they hired the 
Saxons for the same purpose, and the Saxons drove 
them into the mountains of Wales. Ergo, the Welsh 
are the descendants of these miserable Britons ; and 
Dr. Hugh Blair says, that the Saxons drove the 
ancient Britons and their lancruagc into the mountains 
of Wales. Doctorates must be cheap in Scotland. 
What became of the Silurians, "' the most implacable 
of the Britons;" the hardy Dimetians, and the Ordo- 
vices, who had set the power of imperial Rome at 
defiance. One would be led to think from these 
accounts, that they had jumped into the sea out of 
pure politeness, to make room for the degenerate 
inhabitants of the Roman provinces in South Bri- 
tain; but it is too poor a business for me to spend 
time to combat such trifling puerilities as are put 
forth by the English and Scottish writers on this 
subject. 

The Welsh, or Cimbric tribes of Britain, for hardy 
valor never were excelled by an}"- race of people in the 
world ; and no people ever maintained their language, 
their manners, their principles, and personal liberties 



LETTERS ON WELSH niRTORY. 85 

SO long 'and so pure as they have done ; and also their 
national identity and character. 

While these matters Avere going on in North Wales, 
South Wales was under the government of Constan- 
tino, surnamed the blessed, on account of his zeal in 
promoting religion and learning. lie was the first 
Welsh prince after Ijucius, who bore the title of king 
of Britain ; he was of the same race, a descendant of 
the king Erennus. Had he possessed a military char- 
acter, he might have established his power over all 
England, but he contented himself with only placing 
a body of troops on the Severn to guard the frontiers 
of Siluria, while the Picts and Scots rava";ed Enn;land. 
But Vortigern, a relative, commander of these forces, 
contrived his death, and took the principality and 
royal title himself; and when the Picts and Scots 
had advanced as far as Lincolnshire, he determined 
to proceed against them. At this time it appears 
that three small vessels of Saxons, containing about 
three hundred men, arrived on the coast, and were 
hired by Vortigern, much against the will of the 
Siluri. With these, and the Silurian forces, he soon 
routed the Picts and Scots, and established his gov- 
ernment over a large part of England ; and as a 
reward for his Saxon allies, gave Hengist, their leader, 
a considerable principality in Kent. Fresh arrivals 
of Saxons awakened the jealousy of the Silurians, 
and on account of the partiality of the king towards 
the Saxons, and the odium of having brought about 
the death of their beloved king Constantino, they 
deposed him, and raised his son, " the blessed Vor- 
timer," to the throne, who defeated and drove out the 
Saxons. Vortimer dying soon after, the old king was 
again elevated ; then followed the return of the Sax- 
ons, and the massacre of the Silurian chiefs on Salis- 
bury plain ; the second deposition of Vortigern, and 
the choice of Ambrosias. 

As soon as the Saxons had killed so many of the 
Silurian chiefs, they fell to murdering the people 



86 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

of England, without spai'ing age or sex ; and after 
this terrible havoc left the country, but soon returned 
with larger forces, and entering into alliance ^Yith the 
Picts and Scots, and tlie Coronians of Yorkshire, they 
fell upon the Ligurians on the Thames, and forced 
them into the confederacy. So that in the beginning 
of the Saxon invasion the great bulk of the inhabit- 
ants of Britain, together with the Saxons, were in 
close alliance against the Welsh. 

King Ambrosius, at the head of the Welsh forces, 
in time retook the cities of London and York, and the 
Saxons, making their humble submission, were per- 
mitted to retain their territory in Kent, and as the 
country in the north, on the borders of Scotland, was 
devastated, Ambrosius allowed the Saxons, under Octa, 
who had taken possession of York, to settle there. 
This laid the foundation of the powerful kingdom in 
Northumberland. After some years of peace, fresh 
swarms of Sa.^ons arrived, and, uniting with their 
countrymen, gave fresh trouble to king Ambrosius ; 
and in his advanced age ho was killed in a great 
battle, and his forces dofoatcd. 

The next Welsh prince that opposed the Saxons, 
was Nathan Lloyd, who Avas killed with five thousand 
of his men, and the remainder retreated to Wales 
under Arthur, Lord of Glamorgan, then thirty-five 
years of age, and famed for his martial talents. The 
Saxons at this time had an army of well-disciplined 
troops of thirty thousand men, and had in view to 
establish another kingdom further west in the country 
of the Belgians, and in the sequel wore successful ; 
for they established the kingdom of Wessex, but not 
without great opposition from tho Silurians under 
Arthur. When that great prince was first chosen, the 
Avhole force he was able to raise was but eighteen 
thousand men, but he was reinforced by ten thousand 
men, sent by Howell his nephew, king of Brittany, 
and four thousand under the prince of Cornwall, and 
with these he defeated the Saxons after much hard 



LETTERS ON AVELSH HISTORY. 37 

fightinfj; ; after which ho gained several victories, and' 
retook London and York, and circumscribed the Saxon 
territories. In the sixteenth year of his reign he was 
compelled to make peace with the Saxons, and hasten 
to Brittany to aid llowell, who was in danger of being 
overwhelmed by the Franks, While he was absent, 
Medrawd, another nephew, whom ho had left as lieu- 
tenant of the kingdom, debauched the queen, and 
granted the Saxons an increase of territory on condi- 
tion of aiding him against the king, and thus the 
second time, Arthur, at the age of fifty-six, was forced 
to contend with the Saxons and the great bulk of the 
people of England. A scene of war and devastation 
noAv commenced, and continued for seven years, until 
the battle of Camlan, in which Medrawd was killed, 
and Arthur mortally wounded — after a reign of 
twenty-eight years, five of Avhich he spent in Brittany 
and Gaul, Avarring against the Franks. After the 
death of Arthur, the Welsh left the Saxons to swallow 
up England, as it suited their convenience, for sixty 
years, when they again entered the lists with them on 
a very memorable occasion. 

From all this it appears that the Welsh were equal, 
if not superior, in arms to the Saxons ; but the cool 
courage and deep policy of the Saxons in the end 
prevailed. The state of England during this time 
must have been terrible, while two hostile nations were 
traversing its whole length and breadth, the one ready 
and anxious to swallow them up and reduce them 
to slavery, the other despising them for imbecility ; 
and both subsisting on their spoils, and often devastat- 
ing whole regions to spite each other. If the Welsh 
policy was more liberal, and their laws more humane, 
it was hard for the people to see much differenco 
during a state of constant war. The conseciuence 
was that many of the inhabitants preferred submit- 
ting to the Saxons, rather than depend on the aid of 
the Welsh, often tardy and ineffectual. Taking all 
things into consideration, the Welsh made noble 
4 



38 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 



•efforts to stop the ravages of the Saxons; often, 
however, spending their time in sport and revehy, 
while the Saxons were diligently engaged in forward- 
ing their plans of eonquest. The death of Arthur 
occurred in the year 542. 



1 



LETTER V. 



In the former article I svibinittcd to the reader a 
short account of the State of Britain from the era of 
Constantino till the year 600, a period of 300 years, 
a very eventful period in the history of Europe. All 
the Eufilish writers, as far as I have read them, ac- 
knowledge that no people who had been subject to the 
llomuns but those of Great JJritain and JJrittany, 
made any vigorous efforts against the barbarous 
nations, for as soon as the imperial armies were de- 
feated, they submitted to become the vassals of these 
invaders. From what I have written, it Avill appear 
that this was not on account of the superior courage 
of the ])eople of England and Oiaul. In ]iritain the 
main o[)position to the Saxons arose from the people 
of Wales, and other Kimbric tribes ; and in Jirittany 
from the incorporation of a veteran army of the same 
people ; and this division of their power Avas the cause 
of the Saxon conquest of England. 

In the history of ]Jritain, North and South Wales 
were much the same as Sparta and Athens were in the 
history of ancient Greece, sometimes uniting, but often 
opposing each other ; and this want of union was the 
source of many of the calamities which fell on both, 
and upon all Britain. 

After the defeat of the Pelagian doctors in till 
great discussion at Brcvi in Cardiganshire, mentioned 
in a former number, the Belagian heresy sunk in 
Wales, and the churches maintained the purity of the 
gospel for 800 years, till the close of the eighth cen- 
tury, when they began to incline to Popery, after having 
maintained the truth i'or 700 years. No other people 
have maintained pure religion for so long a period, ex- 

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40 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

copt the ))cople in tlio valloya of Piedmont, if they are 
iiu exception. ]>ut they arc the same race, if Welsh 
traditions .are correct ; and Dr. Baird, in a lecture de- 
livered in this city some few months at^o, says, that 
after the Kinibri were defeated by the Koniana under 
Oaius Mariiis, those that escaped took refuge in cer- 
tain valleys in the Alps. Tliis corresponds so well 
with Welsh traditions, that since I read llie lecture of 
Dr. Jiaird, 1 am inclined to attach more importance to 
it than I ever did before. These facts would seem to 
show that some races of men have greater capacity for 
understanding and maintaining the truths of religion 
than others, and among them the Kimbric race stands 
in the hrst rank. The mode of planting churches in 
\\ ales in th<^ early ages, as given by Mr. LV'ter, is as 
follows: — When a minister succeeded in making a 
number of converts in any neighbourhood, he Avould go 
to the Lord or Prince of the district, who Avould 
give him a piece of land for building a house of wor- 
ship and dwelling, and also for as many of the brethren 
to reside as chose to live on the promises, and also 
land for cultivation. There they lived mostly in com- 
munity, and such members as lived on their estates 
supplied the wants of the ministers. By degrees new 
stations would bo established for preaching, and 
ministers would arise, and the congregations thus 
rising around were called Cor or Circuit, (the word is 
pronounced as the word Core in English.) Many of 
these Cors are mentioned, such as Cor Deiniol, Cor 
Catwg, &c. When a college or seminary was attached, 
it was called Bangor — a prominent circuit. Till about 
the year 450 the ministers were equal, but about that 
time they appointed an Archbishop and six Diocesan 
bishops. Other nations preceded them in this innova- 
tion on primitive order, and their own system of cir- 
cuits and senior pastors had the same tendency, but in 
all innovations they wore generally far behind other 
nations. 

As the barbarous nations pressed upon the provinces 



LETTERS ON AVELSII HISTORY. 4i 

of the Tloman empire, the Christians of the primitive 
order in all the neighbouring regions, turned their eyes 
towards Wales as a place of safety; especially those 
of the detached settlcirients of the Kinibric race in 
Brittany, and Cornwall, and Cund>erland, and Strad- 
clyde. These had retained more of the purity of 
Christian doctrine than any other people of Europe, 
and were entitled to full citizenship the moment they 
came to Wales. The greater part of those that fled 
there from persecution were of that race ; and almost 
if not all the churches and seminaries being endowed 
with land, and many of the members living in com- 
munity, they always fouTid a ready welcome. Num- 
bers were pi'inces and lords in their own countries, and 
forsook ample domains for a few acres of land and 
peace in Wales, to act according to their convictions. 
For about 100 ])agc3 or more, in Mr. Peter's history, 
he constantly recurs to, giving the names of individuals, 
and companies of men and women, who came from 
England, Ireland, Caul and Scotland, to Wales, as 
well as from Cornwall and Cumberland, which were 
])art3 of England, settled by the Kimbric race ; about 
150 of the ])rimitive churches of Wales and several 
colleges were founded by these people. The last com- 
pany were from the principality of Stradclyde, in 
iSeotland. They were so numerous, that Moore, in his 
jllistory of Ireland, argues, that they were the Picts, 
who left Scotland in a body and went to Wales ; be- 
cause the Picts, as a distinct race, disappeared at that 
time from the annals of Scotland. And he tries to 
show that the people who made such a figure in Wales 
in after ages, wei'c not the ancient tribes of Silurians, 
&c., but the Picts. This is on the thirtieth page, first 
volume, of Moore's History of Ireland. 

If the Welsh could trace their origin to Scotland, 
they would very soon rise in the estimation of some 
people. 

But to return to the history. This great company 
arrived in Wales in the year 890. Erom that time 
4* 



42 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

no great companies came, the stock of primitive Chris- 
tians havincj; failed in all the neifrhbourins: nations. 

About the year 590, the Pope sent Austin, with a 
company of Monks, to bring the Saxons over to Popery. 
Having brought over two of their kings, he came to 
AValcs and made certain proposals to the Welsh, which 
they rejected. A few years after, about 603, some 
say 605, others 607, the Saxons, under two Saxon 
kings, came to enforce the Popish system on the 
Welsh. They burnt the great College of Bangor 
Iscoed, in Flintshire, and overran a large portion of 
Powys the middle principality ; they also killed 
1150 of the inmates of the College. But when the 
Princes of South and North Wales, and Cornwall, 
heard of it, they assembled their forces, and chose 
Cadvan, Prince of North Wales, commander, who 
overthrew the Saxons with the loss of ten thousand 
men, and recovered all the west side to the North of 
Wales, which they held 140 years, when Ofta, king 
of Mercia, added it to his territories. What the Eng- 
lish writers affirm is not true, that the Saxons finished 
their conquests in 150 years. It took exactly 300 
3^ears, although it is true they had seven kingdoms in 
150 years. The Welsh kept them at bay for 300 
years. They maintained their independence again for 
534 years, and after that 260, under a charter free 
from English legislation, which time overlapped " the 
reign of the beast" in Britain nine years. Except 
the reaction in Mary's reign, during all this time the 
minds of men were free in religious matters, and the 
Welsh never gave their power and strength to the 
beast in wearing out the saints of the Most High. 

It is aside from my purpose to go minutely into the 
History of Wales, either civil or ecclesiastical ; it is 
enough for me to say that when true religion was 
lowest, after Wales became subject to the crown of 
England, and the churches subject to the Archbishop 
of Canterbury, the Kings of England and the Arch- 
bishops were very careful to put no man into the office 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 43 

of bishop in Wales, except such as were known to be 
bigoted papists ; and this because of the propensity of 
the Welsh to Lollardism. Here a whole people were 
proscribed for their attachment to pure Christianity. 
This may all be seen in Peter's History of Religion 
in Wales. 

The prophet thought that he alone was left of God's 
people in Israel, yet the Lord gives a very different 
view of the case, for he said there were seven thou- 
sand ; we may fairly conclude, therefore, that the pri- 
mitive apostolic church was still in being, whatever 
was her order ; and if I had time to trace the History 
of Wales, through the time that elapsed from 606 till 
1535, Avhen Henry the Vlllth disowned the Pope ; and 
the many bloody battles that the Welsh fought against 
the Saxons, and Danes, and Normans, and other 
savage nations, who, as Mr. Peter says, seemed to 
make war upon the religion of the Welsh ; and the 
exertions made by the whole population, without dis- 
tinction, to rebuild the colleges and church edifices ; 
and in the respect paid to religion and religious per- 
sons by all persons, whether religious or not them- 
selves ; surely no man could deny that there was 
some great principle at Avork, not known in any other 
country. 

We have the articles of their faith in 692 as given 
by Aldclm, a Saxon Abbot, in a letter to Gurentius, 
Prince of Cornwall. The Abbot complains that the 
Welsh ministers would not pray with them nor eat at 
the table, and would not drink out of the same cup 
without first scouring the cup. He also gives the de- 
fence of the Welsh ministers, for the purpose, as it 
seems, to show that no principles would avail those 
that Avere out 'of the general church, that being 
founded first on Christ, and then on St. Peter. On 
that account they that denied the authority of the 
Pope could not have their sins forgiven. The Welsh, 
however, did not seem to grant the correctness of the 
premises or the deductions, but say that they taught the 



44 LETTEKS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

people diligently the mystery that the Godhead existed 
in three persons. They also taught the doctrine of 
the incarnation, the death, and resurrection, and as- 
cension of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that there Avas to 
be a judgment when all men would be w'eighed in the 
balance and receive according to their Avorks ; but 
through faith in him they hoped to appear among his 
holy followers at his right hand in glory. These car- 
dinal doctrines of the Christian faith appear to be 
small matters in the estimation of the Saxon ; one 
dogma of the Pope Avould outweigh the Avhole. I may 
here observe that the Welsh never Avrite long confes- 
sions of faith, the Bible is the text-book, and the living 
church the expositor and teacher. 

In conclusion, I will make some remarks on the 
question, Avhether any churches maintained the apos- 
tolic order in doctrines and ordinances as the Baptists 
hold them. Joshua Thomas says, that the oldest non- 
conformist church in Britain is the Baptist church of 
Olchon. It is situated in a valley Avithin the territo- 
rial limits of Hereford"shire. The valley is shut out 
from England by high hills or mountains, but opens 
towards Wales. The Welsh language is spoken there, 
and ahvays lias been. In all Welsh history before the 
Union in 15-14, there is no record of but one man 
called before a bishop to giA^e account of his faith, and 
he Avas called before the bishop of Hereford. There 
is no account of any bishop in Wales calling the Lol- 
lards before them, although they Avere nearly all Eng- 
lishmen ; and Wales, as Ave have already stated, 
abounded in Lollards. It is not to be supposed that 
all these bigoted English Popish bishops Avere more 
indulgent than the rest of their kind ; but there Avas 
no law making Lollardism a crime, and no hangman to 
execute heretics. But a bishop, having no jurisdiction 
in Wales, calls Walter Brute, an eminent minister of 
the Welsh Lollards, to an account for his faith. He 
avows himself a AYelshman of full blood by both 
parents ; the natural inference is, that he Avas an in- 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 45 

habitant of the diocese of Hereford, and there is no 
part of Hereford occupied by the Welsh, except the 
valley of Olchon, and no church there but a Baptist 
church. It is within the precincts of probability that 
this ancient church is the continuance of the church 
established by our Lord in Jerusalem, which has spread 
its wings over vast territories since, and recognized as 
such in the 12th chapter of Revelations, where " the 
church" is represented as flying into a place in the 
wilderness — a place which God had prepared for her, 
where "they should feed and nourish her from the 
face of the Serpent." These are significant words. If 
any one can find words more emphatic of complete 
protection and kindness, I should like to have them 
produced; and if any people can be produced that 
manifested such indulgence towards the pure Church 
of the Redeemer as the Welsh, I should dearly love to 
be told where they were; or if any Welshman can 
convict me of erroneous statements of the facts of his- 
tory, as stated by Mr. Peter, they will oblige me by 
pointing out the error. 

I do not deny the existence of good Christians in 
many countries. I rejoice that there were such. 
These were the two witnesses who prophesied in sack- 
cloth, also there were " the remnant of her seed," 
whom the serpent persecuted, after the woman had fled 
to her place of safety ; but the church, par excellence, 
with her crown of twelve stars, recognized as " the 
church," had fled out of his reach to her own place, 
where she wore neither sackcloth nor mourning, but 
was a nourished and cherished guest, and had a guard 
of sixty thousand warriors, " the bravest of all man- 
kind," to defend her. The commentaries of English 
expositors look very trifling to me on that vision, and 
the notion that the departvn-e of the persecuting pil- 
grims of New England, nearly 100 years after the 
power of the Pope was annulled, is still worse. Do 
people suppose that God spoke unadvisedly, when he 
said that he had prepared a place to nourish his 



46 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

church during the whole period of the beast's reign. 
Yet vre are not to expect that the region Avas very ex- 
tensive, for it is said that the whole world wondered 
after the beast. I would not be understood to intimate 
that evangelical Christians in England and Wales 
were not of the Church of our Redeemer. I only 
mean to say that Wales was the place Avhere the 
church was best protected, and that I believe that the 
purpose of God in preserving a pure church of the 
true order was realized nowhere else. 



LETTER VI. 



The state of society in Wales during the middle 
ages, was siicli as was perhaps never witnessed in any 
other country. All the colleges were prostrated by 
the close of the twelfth century, yet private teaching 
was continued. The country was at times traversed 
in every part by hostile armies, whose main purpose 
was to destroy the religion and learning of the Welsh. 
On account of these continual wars they were under 
the necessity of choosing the ablest among the sons of 
their chiefs to guide their affairs, and as the eldest 
sons or their descendants still claimed the rights, and 
found partisans, and could secure the aid of the kings 
of England, who Avished to crush the nation, these cir- 
cumstances caused great disorders. It is perfectly 
clear that many of the Welsh chiefs, especially after 
the Norman conquest, would have been glad to have 
become barons of England rather than reign over 
petty districts, where their tenure of office depended 
on the caprice of the people ; but as the Welsh had 
personal freedom and valuable rights not enjoyed by 
the common people of England, they would not submit, 
and the princes and chiefs were of no use to the 
English kings, unless they could bring over the people. 
Besides all this, there were frequent wars between the 
different principnlities for two hundred years before the 
time of Edward I. 

Yet learning flourished, and princes, who lived in 
large, thatched cottages, Avere attended by retinues of 
poets, and minstrels, and learned men, that the like 
could not be found in the courts of the most potent 
monarchs in Europe. This may be seen in Sir Walter 
Scott's Tales of the Crusades, vol. 1, the scenes of 

(47) 



48 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

which are laid in Wales. That learning flourished 
there we have abundant proof in the number of works 
still extant, on medicine and grammar, and many other 
subjects, which are mentioned by Mr. Turner, in the 
history of the Anglo-Saxons ; — article, " Wales." The 
Latin language was cultivated, and all their exercises 
and pastimes, twenty-four in number, are still recorded 
in elegant Latin. During that period a number of 
bishops are mentioned, whose names are as worthy of 
remembrance as the celebrated Claude, Bishop of 
Turin ; the only difference I can discern is, that tiiey 
did not hurl so many invectives against their neigh- 
bours, the cause of which was, probably, that the 
general character of the ministers in Wales was more 
consistent with their profession than those of Italy. 
Those most highly spoken of were Joseph, Bishop of 
Llandaif, who continued in office forty years, and 
Bhyddmarch and his son Sulien, Bishops of St. David's 
and Archbishops of Wales, for both dignities belonged 
to St. David's. After the death of the last of these 
good men, the superintendence of the Welsh church 
fell into the hands of the Archbishop of Canterbury, 
who suppressed the College of St. David's, the last of 
about twelve noble institutions that had flourished for 
many centuries. After this period the sees Avere gene- 
rally filled by bigoted and ignorant English priests, 
who spent their time mostly in England, and fre- 
quently pronounced the curses of the papacy on the 
Welsh in all their quarrels with the kings of England ; 
and after this we find that Lollardism became very 
prevalent in Wales, a thing not heard of while the 
sees were filled by pious and learned natives ; for 
although they had acknowledged the Pope's supremacy 
for more than three hundred years, they acted accord- 
ing to their own convictions. The suppression of the 
college of St. David's occurred towards the-close of the 
twelfth century, having flourished for near TOO hundred 
years. There were several others, however, much 
more ancient. About that time also, the Druids ceased 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 49 

to offer sacrifices, although Druidism, as a sort of re- 
fined philosophy, long continued, and the Druids re- 
ceived their revenues for one hundred years after, till 
Wales became subject to Edward I. 

South Wales fell to pieces in the year 1089, the 
second of William Ilufus, by the rebellion of several 
chiefs against Rees ap Tewdor (Recs son of Theodore.) 
These chiefs called in the Normans, who by their aid 
defeated and killed the prince, and then turned about 
and conquered the traitors, and took possession of 
their estates. The prince left three daughters and a 
son, three years old, who was carried to Ireland, and 
the Norman chiefs married the daughters. Twenty- 
two years after the prince returned, and during a 
reign of twenty-two years recovered a large part of 
South Wales. When dying he left it to his son Rees, 
who was then twenty years of age, and he reigned 
about fifty years, in which time he still further re- 
stricted the Normans. After his time South Wales 
had no native prince of great power, although there 
were many native chiefs who held large estates and 
many retainers. It was the victories of Rees over the 
Normans, especially over Gilbert de Clare, commonly 
called Sti-ongbow, and his own two cousins, Fitz Ger- 
ald and Fitz Stephen, tliat induced those chiefs of 
mixed Norman and Welsh blood to try their fortunes 
in Ireland, which resulted in the conquest of that 
country by some fifteen hundred men from South 
Wales. Their movements excited the jealousy of 
Henry II., to remove which they invited the king 
over, who received the homage of about forty Irish 
chiefs, so that Ireland was actually conquered by a 
small party of Welsh warriors of broken fortunes, 
although that event has been credited to Henry II. 

During the ignoble reign of Henry III., Llewellin, 
prince of North Wales, had brought all the Welsh 
chiefs, except one, to do him homage, and when Ed- 
ward I. mounted the English throne, he did not ven- 
ture anything against the great chief till after ten 
5 



50 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

years, in wiiicli he used everj art of deception and 
bribery to draAV them all over, or secure their neu- 
trality. In the year 1282, however, he commenced 
operations against Llewellin ; he placed Mortimer with 
a large army to watch the princes and lords of South 
Wales, while he entered North Wales with a powerful 
force, composed of English and Irish, and auxiliaries 
from Franco and Spain. But by the skill of Llewellin, 
the bravery of his troops, and the success of several 
stratagems, nearly the Avhole of this army was cut off, 
and Edward was obliged to take refuge in a great cas- 
tle which he had taken some time before, and was for 
a while in danger of starvation there, till he was sup- 
plied from a ship, the castle being near the sea shore. 
It being late in the season, had the prince remained 
Edward would have been obliged to retreat ; but cer- 
tain traitors from the eastern part of South Wales in- 
vited him there under promise of rising in his favour. 
Leaving his brother David in the fortresses of Snow- 
den, he proceeded to South Wales with 6000 men, in 
hopes of cutting off the army under Mortimer. When 
he arrived on the banks of the river Wye, he went 
into a woods, according to appointment, to meet those 
traitors, who never came. Without going into minute 
particulars, we may merely say, before he came out he 
was run through with a spear by one Adam Francton, 
while his army, in hopes of his return, maintained a 
long conflict with the overpowering English army of 
Mortimer, in which they lost two thousand men, till at 
last, being satisfied that some disaster had befallen their 
prince, the survivors, 4000 in number, retreated and 
arrived safe in North Wales. Thus, by the union of 
power and treason, fell Llewellin ap Griffith, the great- 
est and noblest prince at that time on earth. David 
attempted to resist the king of England, but failed. — • 
" Ilion was gone, for Hector was no more." 

After the death of Llewellin, king Edward urged 
the Welsh chiefs to submit, and suffer him to place 
their government upon a stable footing, but they laid 



LETTEKS ON WELSH HISTORY. , 51 

it down as a "sine qua non," that the only condition 
on which they would svibrait to his government was, 
that their own laws should be continued, and that the 
king himself should come and live in Wales, or if that 
could not be, he must appoint some Welsh nobleman 
as his lieutenant, to administer the government, and 
also that he must be a man of good moral character. 
These terms were very unpleasant to Edward, but he 
had found the difficulty of putting down the small 
northern principality which comprised only one-fourth 
of Wales, which could not muster at any one time over 
12,000 men ; but if the whole would unite, he would 
have had to contend with three or four times the num- 
ber, and England had not sufficient amount of blood to 
spare to conquer 50,000 hardy mountaineers, who were 
"armed to the teeth," and brought up from youth to 
use military armour as their chief business. Under 
these circumstances he determined to circumvent them, 
and the faithful queen, being then pregnant, he sent 
for her, and she travelled on horseback in the dead of 
winter from London to Caernarvon, 250 miles. When 
the time for her delivery approached, the king sent for 
the Welsh chiefs to meet him at Ehuddlan, in Flint- 
shire, but on various pretences avoided meeting them, 
till Griffith Lloyd, a Welshman, brought news that the 
queen was delivered of a son. As soon as the king 
heard the news, he called the chiefs together, and told 
them that he had determined to grant their request, 
for he had determined to appoint a native Welshman 
to be their prince, one born in their own country, of 
excellent morals, for he had never committed any crime 
in his life, and besides all that, he did not know a 
word of English. Will you submit to my government 
administered by him ? To this they gave consent. 
The king then told them that he had a son, born in 
Caernarvon castle, that he should be their prince. The 
Welshmen were confounded to see the trick, and re- 
quested time to consider the matter, which the king 
granted, and after much discussion, in which they ima- 



52 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

gined many benefits they might derive from a prince 
born in Wales, they returned and agreed to submit. 
Accordingly the three Welsh principalities were merged 
into one, in consequence of -which tke coronet of the 
prince of Wales was mounted with three ostrich fea- 
thers. A lieutenant of Wales was however appointed, so 
that after all the making of the king's son prince was 
but a nominal thing. The office continued many years 
after the union, for Sir Philip Sidney was brought up 
in Wales, if not born there, in consequence of his father 
being lieutenant in the reign of Elizabeth, although 
the union was effected in the latter part of her father's 
reign ; and it shows how little the generality of English 
writers know of political science, Avhen they suppose 
that the conferring of the title of Prince of Wales on 
an infant nullified the terms enacted by the Welsh, 
while it is well known that all the benefits remained 
unimpaired in the complete independence of Wales 
from English legislation. In fact, under the circum- 
stances, it was a great benefit to them, for it put an 
end to their continual wars among themselves and with 
England. The only benefit the kings of England re- 
ceived Avas to get rid of the terrible forayes they were 
continually making into England, and also they could 
always draw a body of hardy warriors to aid them in 
their wars, instead of having the country attacked by 
them whenever the English were in any trouble, as 
was always the case before. After settling the aftairs 
of Wales, and cuttinji; roads and building three or four 
great castk^s to keep them in order, which took twenty 
years of Edward's reign, he determined upon an expe- 
dition to France to recover the extensive territories 
which were lost there during his grandfather, king 
John's reign. For this purpose he raised a great army, 
and the English Parliament laid a tax on England and 
Wales, and Sir Roger de Puk'ston, with a company of 
publicans, was sent to Wales to collect the taxes, but 
the Welsh, who considered this an assumption of power 
by the English Parliament, Avere determined not to pay 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 53 

it, nor suffer a precedent for exactions of the kind in 
future. Tbey took Sir Roger and his company, and 
first hanged and then beheaded them, and prepared for 
■\var. Several of the English commanders hastened to 
put down the revolt, but were defeated, till the king 
came with the whole power of the kingdom, and routed 
the Welsh. But to collect a tax was another matter. 
This could not be done without calling at the houses in 
the principality, and being exposed to their arrows 
from behind every tree and rock, so no tax was ever 
paid till the union which Avas effe*ted at the request 
of the Welsh. This fact may be learned from a speech 
of Lord Chatham, which may be found in many of our 
school books, in which that great statesman justifies 
the Americans, on the principle that representation 
and taxation were inseparable in the order of English 
legislation. This might have suited his purpose at the 
time, but it was not a principle either in the origin or 
action of the British House of Commons : so far as it 
was a principle of action, it was forced on them by the 
Welsh ; and so far were the English, both government 
and people, from recognizing such a principle, that 
after 500 years they enacted laws to tax the colonies. 

The reasoning of the Welsh at that time was pre- 
cisely the same as that of the Americans at the time 
of the llevolution, and yet many Americans suppose 
that their revolution was the first that ever occurred 
on principle. If the Americans were to look narrowly 
into Welsh history, they would find that all the great 
principles of human rights ever advocated were well 
understood and acted out in Wales many centuries 
ago. 

The above is a faithful account of what the English 
WTiters call the conquest of Wales. 
5* 



LETTER VII. 



During tho period tliat intervened from Edward I. 
till the Tiidors were placed on the English throne, the 
meanest of the English kings, in compliance with tho 
wishes of the rapacious nobility and bigoted priests, 
were anxious to injure antl oppress the Welsh; but 
such men as Edward III. and Henry V. always treated 
them with great indulgence, and they in return were 
the bravest of their troops, and served them most faith- 
fully. Henry IV. was a bigoted papist, and prevailed 
on the Parliament to pass a law for burning heretics, 
under which many sullcred in England ; and tho 
AVelsh, under Owen, one of their chiefs, continued in 
rebellion all the days of Henry. Owen also dying 
soon after, Henry V. gave them honourable terms. 
How well he was rewarded let the result of the battle 
of Agincourt decide, for it was the audacious courage 
of the Welsh that raised the drooping spirits of the 
English, and it was their almost superhuman efforts 
that saved the king's life, when beset by overwhelming 
numbers of the bravest French warriors and knights, 
who had sworn to kill the kinir of Enjrland, take him 
prisoner, or perish in the attempt. 

When the head of the house of York put in his 
claim for the throne, the AVelsh, considering that the 
crown belonged of right to that branch, were nearly 
unanimous in their support. The consequence was, 
that the Yorkists, after many bloody battles, gained 
the day, and as king Edward 1\. had received such 
effectual aid from them, he indulged them in all their 
predilections. Among other measures, he issued his 
mandate to convene the bards, which other kings tried 

(54) 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 55 

to suppress ; but when his two sons were murdered by 
Richard, and the throne usurped in violation of the* 
rights of the princess Elizabeth, to whom the crown 
belonged on the death of her brother, it presented a 
different case ; and the same motives that induced 
them to join the Yorkists now led them to oppose 
Richard. 

In addition to this, there was a young nobleman, 
descended from the ancient line of Welsh kings, by his 
paternal grandfather, and from the kings of France, 
by his grandmother, but his mother was a descendant 
of John Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, by the eldest 
of his illegitimate sons. The two rival houses of York 
and Lancaster had acted the part of the two cele- 
brated Kilkenny cats, and had destroyed each other, 
except the tails ; for the rights of these two houses 
were vested in persons who had no power, while th« 
usurper had the armies of England, and the Earl of 
Riclunond the chief sympathy of the Welsh. The 
prostrate Lancastcrians and disaffected Yorkists found 
there was no chance of ousting Richard but by pro- 
posing a marriage between the earl and the pi'incess, 
who were of suitable ago, aiul thereby raise the na- 
tioiuil enthusiasm of the Welsh. 

The Welsh had always been inured to the practice 
of military weapons ; but in that dangerous time, 
having the confidence of the sovereign, they had turned 
their whole energies that way, so that in South Wales 
alone Sir llice aj) Thomas and other chiefs could bring 
out no less than 4000 horsemen, besides other forces, 
as well disciplined as any troo})S in Europe ; for Sir 
Rice ap Thomas had been captain of a troop, under 
the Duke of Burgundy, before lie was twenty, and fell 
heir, by the deatli of his father, at that age, to a 
splendid estate and two stately castles. Sir Rice had 
taken the oath of allegiance to Richard, and would 
probably have remained in his interest had Richard 
acted with prudence ; but Richard also demanded Sir 
Rico's only son, a child of live years old, as hostage, 



66 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

•which the father declined, alleging the youth of the 
child. Richard, instead of promptly acquiescing, 
made no aus'wer, which rendered Thomas's situation 
anything but pleasant. While he was musing on this 
subject, the Bishop of St. David's, and Dr. Lewis, 
physician to the Queen Dowager (who also had been 
teacher of Sir Rice in his youth) and several others 
of his friends called and urged him to join the Earl. 
He was then preparing a powerful armament to chas- 
tise the Duke of Buckingham, on account of some per- 
sonal insult ; but as the Duke was then going on his 
desperate expedition against Richard, he agreed to 
desist, and, after much deliberation, determined to 
take part with the Earl. The news of Buckingham's 
disaster did not change his purpose, for in addition to 
his splendid squadron of 1000 horse, which had been 
twelve years in forming, he raised 2000 other troops, 
so that when the Earl arrived in Milford Haven, Sir 
Rice ap Thomas was there to receive him with 3000 
troops. After settling the preliminaries, the Earl 
was proclaimed king of England, Avith the greatest 
enthusiasm. The English writers have been very kind 
to the Earl of Richmond in searching out the diffi- 
culties he labom-ed under in putting forth his claim 
to the throne of England ; but he himself appears to 
have had no trouble on that head, for he claimed the 
crown by virtue of his descent from the ancient Brit- 
ish or Welsh kings ; and it mattered little to Harry 
whether he was descended from the kings or one of 
their footmen, so long as the historians made the peo- 
ple believe that he was really descended from their 
kings ; hence, as soon as he landed, he unfurled the 
AVclsh national standard, the Red Dragon. 

The Earl with 2000 men, composed of French and 
Britons, set oft' for Shrewsbury, through Cardigan- 
shire, having the river Tivy on the right ; and Sir 
Rice ap Thomas, leaving 2000 men at home, set off 
through Caermarthenshire, having the same river on 
the left ; but at the time he sent to all the chieftains 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 57 

in the four eastern counties of South Wales, which 
lay on his right. These chiefs and their men came in 
such numbers that he was obliged to make a selection 
of the most athletic and best disciplined, so that when 
he found the Earl at Shrewsbury, he had under his 
command 3000 men, composing the flower and chivalry 
of South Wales. While these things were going on 
in South Wales, Sir William Stanley, Chamberlain of 
North Wales, raised 3000 men there, and Lord Talbot 
had recruited at Shrewsbury, where he collected a 
considerable body of English and Welsh, Shrewsbury 
being within twelve miles of the line of the middle 
principality of Wales, called Powys. Lord Stanley also 
collected several thousand men in Cheshii-e and Lan- 
cashire. Richard's adherents considered the French 
and Britons, wdio came with the Earl, as a rabble, 
(and they were not far wrong) and the men under 
Lord Stanley as the seum of England. The Stanleys 
were in a very peculiar situation, from the fact that 
Lord Strange, a son of Lord Stanley, was in Richard's 
power, therefore they could not take part in the fray 
till both parties were fully engaged. 

In this last struggle between those rival houses 
matters were carried on very difierentiy from what had 
ever occurred before. Li former battles great multi- 
tudes of men, hastily raised and undisciplined, were 
engaged ; in this the forces were not large ; for Rich- 
ard's array was composed of only 16,000 men, and all 
tlie Earl's partisans were but 14,000, only about one- 
half of whom were engaged in the beginning, and indeed 
it appears plain that these had virtually decided the 
battle against 11,000 of Richard's men, for as soon 
as his keepers learned that Richard was defeated, they 
left Stanley's son at liberty, which greatly added to 
the joy of the victors. Richard was anxious to kill 
him, but his partisans, fearful of the consequences, dis- 
suaded him, saying that if he was victorious he could 
have time enough to avenge himself on all his enemies. 

That the fate of Richard's army was decided before 



68 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

Sir William Stanley caiiio up with the North Welsh 
troops, is cvidont from the conduct of Kichard, for he 
been me desperate by seeing; that his troops were mowed 
down by the opposite army, and seeing the Earl in an 
exposed situation, he, attended by numbers of his 
bravest companions, attempted to cut him off or perish 
in the effort ; just at this point Sir William Stanley 
canu^ in with the North Welsh forces, and killed llich- 
ard and his brave con^panions ; and Lord Stanley 
seeing the fate of the day decided, also joined in the 
fray as if his son was then safe, there was no further 
danger to bo apprehended on that head, and he joined 
liis father soon after the battle. 

The tales told by English historians about the mul- 
titudes killed by Richard are exceedingly amusing. 
The loss of the Eail's army has never been reckoned 
above -00 uumi, while Hume says that Kichard's army 
lost 4000, or "20 to 1; and multitudes of those 200 
killed by Richard himself. What poltroons must 
those 11,000 English troops have been thus to leavo 
all the iighting and killing to their king. 

No doubt the English under their various leaders 
Avere brave men and did their part, but the situation 
of the Stanleys was so trying, that the victory of 
Bosworth was decidedly gained by the noble and gal- 
lant body of troops brought by Sir Rice ap Thomas 
from South Wales. Such had been the military spirit 
in South Wales, that our historians say that the chief 
nuM\ of that district for some years before would give 
a whole farm for a iine horse, and that they imported 
and bred the hnest horses that could be found ; and 
there were no hner archers in the Avorld than the 
people of that district. 

The conclusion that I have come to is, that Cod 
was about to destroy the power of the |)apacy in Bri- 
tain, as he destroyed the pagan power in the Roman 
empire, and in order to do this it suited his exalted 
purpose to use the Welsh as his instruments by which 
the dynasty was changed, and a family was placed on 



LICTTKUK ON WKI/'II IIIRTOUV. 69 

tlio tlii-fMio h!i,viri/f tlio I'eclin^fn jukI trndilioriH of tlio 
Welsh, wliicli liiul iilw;i_yH InHsri iiiiitii(;ii,l to tlio I'o[)(!'h 
HU|)r(!iii:M;y. 'riu! VVcIhIi mmUoiiiiI sbiiiiliiid (VMil.iiiiMKl 
1,0 1)0 tlio Kl,!Ui(l;Li-(i of tho kiii;filoiii for tliirly-iiiiio 
yearn, but in tli<! lirtcciitl) _y(!;i,f oi' 1 Iciii-y tli(; VIII. 
tlio KrifijliMli nt;irMlii,r<l wan roHtorcil. 

►Sir Jvico ap TlioinaH wa.s tlicii tliirty-tlii-co ycnxH of 
a.^0. lie AViiH kiii/fhtiid on liio (uild oi" lioswoitli, a,n(l 
tlio Hpl(!ii(li(i cstato that rortiKiily liolori^ijc.il to tlio 
priti(;(!H of South VVahtM wsiH Ixrritovvcd upon him, to- 
^jjothcr with Oiiiovor (;a.stl(;, thcjir rowidciioo, then in 
iiiiiis ; Jiiid his doscoridiiritH uro Htill in possoHsion witli 
tlio titlo of Lord or liarou Dinovur, a poor oi" tlio 
roalrii. 

IJ(;sid(!S tli(;so lioiiourH lio waH niado Liciutonant of 
AVal(!,s, tli(j Ijord of Na,rl)(!itli and a dozon otluir oIHcoh 
and di;^iiiti(!.s. With tlio.sc! lar<.M; r(!V(!niion ho niain- 
ta,inc.(i Kuoh rotiiiiHsH of liorHotricn :itid (jtlicr d(![)cndont.s, 
as ajipoarcd nioro like a Hovoriti^n prinoo than a pri- 
V!i,to person ; and thin too unilor a kin^ who took (jvcry 
iiKjanH to re[)rosH other nt^bhis. Jlo died at tho ago 
of Hovonty-six, leaving a, lar^c; nuinhnr of childi'on, on 
aJl ot" whom ho bostowf^d valuable (sstatoH. 

'.riio oonHoquonoo wan that a iksw (dement was in- 
I'lised into the Mn^flish jiopidiitiori of" hotter hlo<jd than 
(!vcr Avas in("us(;d beToiw!. J iio(!d 'Hily mentifHi ('rom- 
well and Milton, and iiarrlHon, and Dr. Owen, Admiral 
Tenn, and Killin, tho JJiifitist minister and princely 
merchant ot" Jiondon, and many others, liesidos tho 
Tudor race tli(!mselves, who were too haughty to sufl'cr 
the irisob^rice of" the I'ofto nrul his partisans, and too 
tal(!iited to ])('. circumvented l»y them. 

TIk! nariio of tho ('romwells was Williams, for Mor- 
l^an Williams, son of the Lord of (Jardi^an, married a 
sister of Lord Thomas (Jromw(;lI. Tho tyrant 11 (jury 
tho VJIL beli(!aded Lord Cromwell, and created Wil- 
liams, Haron Cromwell — from liiui in a direct line tho 
l*rot(!ctor d(;scended. 

Admiral i'cnn was a descondaut of John Tudor, a 



60 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

relative of the kingly race of that name. His estate 
in Anglcsca was called Penmynydd. One of the kings 
presented Tudor Avith an estate in Ireland. After 
residing there a while he returned, and was created 
Sir John Penn, after his estate, and not by his family 
name. Tudor is a Welsh corruption of Theodore, so 
that but for kingly caprice the name of the illustrious 
founder of Pennsylvania would have been in plain 
English, AVilliam Theodore ! 

I see also that Lewis Morris, one of the signers of 
the Declaration of Independence, claimed descent from 
the illustrious prince of South Wales, Rhys ap Tewdwr, 
in English, Rees, son of Theodore, and of course of 
Howell the last AVelsh legislator. Tliere are numbers 
of families in Wales descended from king Brennus, 
who brought the gospel to Britain, Avhose descent is well 
known. Thus while the Ci>isars arc lost, and most of 
the great oppressors of mankind, the words of God to 
Moses are verified, that he visited the iniquity of the 
fiithers upon the children to the third and fourth gen- 
eration of them that hated him, and showed mercy to 
thousands (of generations,) of them that loved him 
and kept his commandments. 

It is not intended by the Avriter of these articles to 
show that the Welsh are superior in all respects to 
other nations ; they are not any better than they ought 
to be, nor as good as they might be. Nevertheless, 
they understood that truth was in its nature immuta- 
ble, that it was the duty of all men to seek after and 
to receive the truth, and admitted the right of all 
men to act according to the requirements of truth. 
How they came by such principles which no other people 
understood, is more than I can comprehend, unless 
they retained it by tradition from the immediate de- 
scendants of Noah, and I suspect this was the case ; 
therefore, I have always ascribed it to certain rays of 
divine light retained among them by tradition. 

The account I have given is far more honourable to 
the English than that given by their own writers, for 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 61 

there is no accounting for thnt tremendous war-spirit 
that took possession of the Welsh, but on the idea of 
some great design of the Ahnighty, nor of the infatua- 
tion tliat possessed so united a people as the English, 
■which resulted in tlio destruction of upwards of eighty 
persons of royal blood, the flower of the nobility and 
free population of England, bringing them almost upon 
a level with the Welsh in point of real power for the 
time being, and opening the way to place the descen- 
dant of a bastard on a throne. 

6 



LETTER VIII. 



There is nothing that the Englisli writers are more 
prone to do, than to charge the Welsh with superstition. 
I never couhl account for this notion, unless it is that 
the superstitions of the Welsli are diifercnt from those 
of the English, in which case, of course, they appear 
more absurd. All nations have their superstitions, and 
the Welsh are not exempt : the main difference is that 
Welsh superstitions are far less harmful, and more con- 
fined to the ignorant and uneducated classes, which are 
very few in AVales. 

The most formidable characters are the fairies, and 
there is also a light called corpse candles, which trace 
the road a funeral takes from the bed of the deceased 
to the grave. These objects have no necks to be 
strangled, nor tongues to be bored with hot irons, so 
there is not an instance recorded in all I have read 
about Wales, where any person was charged with bad 
practices before any tribunal in these undefinable 
crimes. As for witchcraft, there has been a belief in 
it to a considerable extent, but I am of the opinion that 
it was not connected Avith Druidism, but that it came 
in Avith Popery. One thing I have noticed in the 
Welsh, that the poets, and ministers, and all civil mag- 
istrates, have always been wonderfully clear of super- 
stition. 

I will give a relation of a fcAv facts, which will shew 
the spirit of the Welsh. The celebrated Jeremy Tay- 
lor was' obliged to leave England on account of the 
persecutions of the English revolutionists. He fled to 
Wales, and was kindly received by Mr. Vaughan of 
Golden Grove, (Lord Carberry ;) his enemies from Eng- 
land followed him, and brought him before the court as 
62 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 63 

an enemy of the existing government; but the Welsh 
judges quashed the whole proceeding, believing it to 
be a false charge ; but the poeti-y of the matter is, that 
the author of Taylor's biography takes occasion from 
this circumstance to magnify the liberality of the Eng- 
lish. Taylor married a wife worth some property in 
Wales, and this may have contributed to some portion 
of his liberality. 

A few years after, the Rev. Vavasor Powell, a Bap- 
tist minister, Avho had been one of the commissioners 
under Cromwell, was brought before one of the petty 
courts in which three magistrates sit to decide certain 
matters. Some of the partisans of the restored govern- 
ment brought Mr. Powell before them, and he was 
committed to prison to abide the decision of the court 
of Quarter Sessions. There were sixteen bailiffs and , 
other persons present, whose duty it was to do the bid- 
ding of the magistrates. All but one refused, and he, 
after staying all night at Mr. Powell's house, which was 
near the road, made off in the morning, leaving the 
prisoner at his own house. Lest the man should be 
liable to punishment, Mr. Powell entered security for 
his appearance, but when he appeared the judges 
quashed the whole proceeding, and made great friend- 
ship with Mr. Powell, inviting him to a public dinner 
to take place after the adjournment of the court. I do 
not wish to draw invidious comparisons, but these mat- 
ters were in perfect contrast to the conduct of Sir 
Matthew Hale towards John Bunyan ; and about one 
hundred and twenty years after, three Baptist ministers 
were brought before a court in Virginia on a charge of 
vagrancy, and were only delivered by the interference 
of Patrick Henry. 

There were imprisonments and fines in Wales, under 
the act of uniformity, but when I read the history of 
the reigns of the Stuarts, by Macaulay, and compare 
the cruelties exercised in England and Scotland with 
what transpired in Wales, it is hard to conceive that 
the difterent regions were under the same government, 



64 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

for when tlio inagistratos were in ii manner compelled 
to commit perisons to prison, they Mould _i:jo again in a. 
few days with tears and release them, telling them they 
knew they were suflering for righteousness' sake. Al- 
though the Welsh were generally very liberal, there 
were some villains who made themselves busy in prose- 
outing the non-conformists. 

One ease is the best commentary I ever saw on tho 
parable of the unjust judge, and on that account I will 
relate it. A Avealthy man had been very busy in tho 
work of persecution, but had the misfortune to oft'end 
a very wicked woman. AYhenever she met him, she 
abused him without stint or measure. The man at 
length fell sick with chagrin at the annoyance, and 
soon died, but the woman was not satisfied, till one day 
she entered tho graveyard, and abused even his grave, 
which last act appeased her vengeance. AVhen any 
misfortune happened to the persecutors, it was always 
point etl at by the most ungodly as a judgment from the 
Almighty, and grave writers on history tell us that 
these persecutors often came to a bad end, and without 
supposing any direct judgment, it is quite credible that 
wretches who could set the light and liberalit}' of the 
AVelsh at deiiance, could not be far from perdition. 

I will now turn to a more pleasing subject. About 
the year 1708, three years before Abel Morgan left 
Wales, a young man of the name of Enoch Francis, 
nineteen years of age, began to preach in the Baptist 
church at New Castle Emlyn, and in a few years fully 
made up for the loss of Abel Morgan, for besides serv- 
ing the church at New Castle, he served its four 
branches, being aided by other ministers of less talent ; 
and besides these labours he took his round every year 
to visit every Baptist church in the principality. His 
appoaraneo was hailed everywhere as an occasion of 
joy, not only by his brethren the Baptists, but by other 
denominations, and by all classes of people. He pos- 
sessed a mind of the highest order, and a constitution 
of tho iirmest sort ; in fact his body and luind were both 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 65 

cast in nature's finest mould ; although rather grave in 
his manner, yet he was a most pleasing companion. In 
his fiftieth year he lost his wife, who left six children, 
three sons and three daughters. About six months 
after, he set out for his regular tour to visit the churches, 
but when he had got as far as Fishguard in Pcmbrok- 
shire, he was taken sick of a fever, and died in two 
weeks. J lis wife had been buried at Kilvowyr, about 
twenty miles from the place where he died, and as soon 
as the news of his death was heard, the people in every 
parish, Avithout distinction, made arrangements to carry 
his corpse through their own territory on a bier ; this 
was in the month of February, 1740, and the roads were 
lined by the people, who came many miles to look at 
the mournful procession. 

Our historians say, that the sensation and deep sor- 
row which prevailed through all Soutii Wales, was almost 
incredible. Many elegies were Avrittcn and printed. 
But the one that is preserved by Mr. Thomas in his 
history of the Baptists, was made by Rev. Jenkin 
Thomas, pastor of the Independent church at Trewen, 
within a mile of New Castle ; he was nephew of Abel 
Morgan, and Dr. Ilichards says never had his superior 
in Wales as a poet, and was also a distinguished scholar. 
Such was the bard who composed the immortal elegy 
on Enoch Francis. A Mr. Jones published an edition 
of Thomas's history in 1885), continued ; but Mr. 
Thomas was much abridged. That elegy, although 
pretty long, is kept entire. In it the poet expresses 
the greatest admiration of his personal appearance, his 
fidelity to the cause of his Redeemer, and his splendid 
talents. lie speaks of him as a husbandman and sower 
of seeds, as a shepherd, as a distributor of wealth, as a 
warrior, all in the finest strains of poetry, and then 
represents all the churches of the Baptists in Wales in 
dilferent attitudes of mourning, in which he evinces the 
richest display of language ; and then exhibits his 
brethren in the ministry, in the fields, and on the walls 
of Zion, shedding the briny tears for their friend ; and 
6* 



66 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

speaks of his published -works and his orphan children, 
on whom he invokes the richest blessings of heaven ; 
and finally speaks of his burial along Avith his lovely 
partner and many pleasant brethren ; but his faithful 
soul had ascended to happy heaven to dwell in the 
presence of his God. This happened one hundred years 
almost before jMessvs. Cox and Iloby wrote "The Bap- 
tists in America," yet they say that at that time the 
Baptists were looked upon as interlopers in many parts 
of England. 

Mr. Francis had a cousin in the niinistr}'-, Abel 
Francis. Jonathan Francis, his eldest son, was long a 
faithful minister. Jonathan Francis had a son, Enoch 
Francis, pastor of a Baptist churcli at Exeter, England ; 
the Bev. T. Boyce, of London, and Bev. "William Straw- 
bridge, well known to many in Philadelphia, were bap- 
tized at Exeter on the same day by the younger E. 
Francis. Nathaniel, the second son, a pious and pro- 
mising youth, died at eighteen. One of his daughtei's 
married Rev. Stephen Davis, pastor of one of the 
Baptist churches in Caermarthen, who was also a man 
of considerable distinction in society as to wealth and 
influence ; the Bev. Stephen Davis of Clonmel, Ireland, 
a missionary on behalf of the Irish Baptist Society, 
was, or is, a grandson of Rev. Stephen Davis above 
mentioned. Dr. Burchell some time ago gave an ac- 
count of eight or ten of the most eminent Baptist min- 
isters in England. I observed that the name of John 
Davis, son of the. last Stephen Davis, was one of them. 
Mr. Francis's two other daughters Avere eminent 
Christians, and in prosperous circumstances, but the 
most eminent of his family after himself Avas Rev. 
Benjamin Francis of Horsley, in Gloucestershire, a fine 
poet. Several of his hymns are in Rippon's selection, 
and one or two in the Psalmist. His Welsh hymns 
are pretty numerous, numbering some hundreds, but in 
his English hymns he is rather too apt to use super- 
latives, a common fault Avith Welshmen in composing 
English poetry, because there is a copiousness of mean- 



LETTERS ON WELSH UISTORY. 67 

ing in Welsh words that a person acquainted only with 
the English cannot imagine. 

It is impossible to conceive of a more pleasing circum- 
stance, than a whole people in deep lamentation for a 
pious and unassuming Christian minister, especially of a. 
sect everywhere else spoken against. It was a bitter la- 
mentation of the prophet, "th'e righteous' man dieth and 
no man layeth it to heart, that before the evil days the 
righteous are removed." Such was not the case in 
Wales when Enoch Francis died ; the churches and the 
people generally thought that the loss could not be 
made up ; but a young man named Timothy Thomas 
had commenced just before his death in the same 
church, scarcely inferior to Francis ; and shortly after, 
his brother, Joshua Thomas, the historian; and a few 
years after, Zechariah Thomas, the younger brother, 
and many others in diflerent parts of the principality. 
The above three brothers were all able men. Timothy 
died under fifty, being the third eminent minister raised 
in New Castle church, who died under fifty years, or 
in the fiftieth year, \'iz : Abel Morgan, Enoch Francis, 
and Timothy Thomas, the last died in 17G8 ; Joshua 
about 1796, and Zechariah in 1817, after sixty years 
of faithful and able ministerial service. There were two 
ministers in London, sons of the two elder Thomases ; 
Thomas of Peckham, and Thomas of Devonshire Square. 
Dr. Thomas, who went to India with Carey, was a son 
of one of them. There was an eminent minister, a son 
of one of the three brothers, in Wales, and the present 
pastor of the Baptist church at New Castle Euilyn, is 
one of their descendants, an able and worthy man, also 
named Timothy Thomas. I know no more of the history 
of this most worthy family, which produced so many 
able and faithful ministers, every one of whom adorned 
the doctrines of God our Saviour, by living a life un- 
blemished ! 

There was also Thomas Evans, a minister who com- 
menced about 1G53, who had among his descendants 
about twelve, or at least ten ministers, many of them 



68 LETTERS ON WELSH HTSTORY. 

very able ; two are "vvoll known : llov. Hugh Evans, 
A. M., principal of the Bristol Acatloniy, and Kev. 
Caleb Evans, 1). D., his successor, the same who died 
in 1791, having survived his latiier only about nine 
years. I have now given an account of the four most 
distinguished races of ministers among the Modern 
Welsh J>aptists, viz : the family of Thoni;is Evans, and 
of Morgan Jxhydderch, and of his Avife by the second 
husband, also of the Francises and the Thomases. 

The Methodists, of the Calvinistic order, arose in 
Wales about the time of the great lamentation for the 
loss of Enoch Francis. Daniel Rowlands, Howell Har- 
ris, Howell Davis, IVter and William AVilliams, David 
Morris, and many others arose among them, mostly 
men of hue education and eminent talents, and un- 
blemished reputation. When a people have the grace 
to value the gospel, the Lord is sure to raise Shepherds 
to feed his llock. There arose many also among the 
Independents. 



LETTER IX. 



I HAVE mentioned, in a former article, that a letter 
was written by Aldelm, a Saxon abbot, to the Prince of 
Cornwall, which exhibits, in clear terms, the notions of 
the Saxons of those times, about the Christian religion, 
as well as the religious sentiments of the Welsh at that 
time, 692. 

"To the glorious Lord Gurentius, King of the Wes- 
tci'n Kingdom, whom I embrace with brotherly love, 
and also all the ministers of God in Cornwall, to whom 
I desire the salvation of the Lord. 

" When the ministers of England met in convention, 
and taking counsel for the good of all the churches, 
they desired me, unworthy as I am, to write unto you 
to implore you that you do not break the union of the 
universal church ; and that you do not embrace thoughts 
inconsistent with the Christian faith, and by that means 
de})rive yourself of everlasting happiness. 

" We have heard tiiat there are ministers in your 
kingdom who reject the tonsure of Peter, prince of the 
apostles, and that they defend themselves by saying that 
they cut their hair as their fathers did, who were emi- 
nent in grace ; but they don't know that it was Simon 
the Sorcerer, who was the inventor of their tonsure, and 
that St. Peter is the autlior of the tonsure in use among 
us, and that it was ordained by him in the church for 
weighty considerations ; and there is among you another 
custom — more dangerous to the souls of men, — that you 
don't observe Easter at the time appointed by the 
Council of Nice, and in the manner of the Church of 
Home. Beside this scandel, there is another thing in 
which the ministers of South Wales have departed from 
the common faith ; they think themselves so holy that 
they will not hold fellowship with us, neither will they 
unite with us in prayers, and will not commune with us 

(69) 



70 LETTERS ON "WELSH IIISTOKY. 

at the table ; and so abominable avo "\ve in tbcir sight, 
that tliev will not drink out of the same cup without 
iirst scouring the cup. 

" This conduct is so opposed to the spirit of the 
gospel, that it calls for repentance and the deepest 
mourning ; and, inasmuch as these things arc true, we 
desire you, in the humblest manner, and we charge you 
as you desire to attain to glory, that you no longer hate 
the doctrines and the rules of the blessed apostle Peter, 
nor hold in contempt the traditions and ordinances of 
the Church of Ivomc ; because Christ said to Peter, 
Thou art Peter, and on this rock I build my church, and 
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it ; and I will 
give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and what- 
ever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound ii\ heaven, 
and whatever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed 
in heaven. If Peter, therefore, has obtained the keys 
of the kingdom of heaven, who that despise the ordi- 
nances of the church can be so presumptuous as to expect 
to go in through the gate into the paradise of God ? for 
if IV'ter received the power to loose and authority to 
bind in heaven and on earth, how can those that do not 
observe Easter, or wear the tonsure appointed by the 
Church of Kome, expect to be freed from their sins? 

"It is in vain that the ministers of Wales excuse 
and defend themselves by saying that they reverence, 
from their hearts all the commandments and rules of 
the Old and ^\^w Testament, and that they believe with 
all their hearts that the Godhead exists in three persons, 
and is yet one infinite God; and that they preach to 
the people the mystery of the incarnation, the ileath, 
the resurrection, and ascension of Christ ; and publish 
with diligence that there is a judgment to come, when 
all men shall bo weighed in the balance, and receive 
according to their works ; but that they hope, by faith 
in our Lord Jesus Christ, to appear among his holy 
followers at his right hand in glory. 

•• Hut this can avail them nothing, so long as they 
remain out of the communion of the Holy General 



LKTTEUS ON WELSH iriSTORY. 71 

Church.' In a word ; vain is tlio faith of that man 
who does not ohey all the commands of St. Peter, 
because the foundation of the Church and the strength 
of faith rest chielly on Christ, and consequently on 
St. Peter." 

Here we have the furuhunental principles of the 
faith of both Saxons and Welsh in the year 692, and 
that from the pen of Aldelni. one of the great lights 
of the Saxon church. From this it would appear that 
Peter was an adept at cropping hair. Cropping the 
cranium, and close attention to the decree of the Coun- 
cil of ISIice, and conformity to Rome, were the principles 
of Saxon Christianity; while the Old and New Testa- 
ments were the guides of the Welsh, and their reliance 
on the works and merits of our Jiedeemer, through faith 
in him. And they continued steadfast for near a cen- 
tury after — altogether, seven hundred years, without 
the least deviation from the truth. And to me it is 
abundantly clear, that they were as correct at the close 
of the ninth century, as the continental churches gene- 
rally were at the close of the second, thus having the 
advantage of seven hundred years in primitive times. 

During all this time Druidism continued, and the 
Druids received their accustomed revenues ; and this 
continued till the final subversion of their indepen- 
dence. To that cause, probably, may be ascribed the 
long purity of the Christian church, as there was no 
temptation thrown in the way of the Pagan priests to 
make a hypocritical profession of Christianity for the 
sake of woi'ldly gain; and the worst punisliment pro- 
nounced upon sinners by the Druids, Avas a return for 
a while to a lower grade of existence — to return to man- 
hood, after sufiering proper punishment, and finally 
arrive at heaven. Men in love with sin, will pursue 
it with an eternal hell in vicAV, and some will stultify 
themstdves by wresting the Scriptures to universalism. 
Druidism was a r(.'lief to both such classes, and pro- 
bably saved the Christian Church, much as culverts do 
large cities. 



LETTER X. 



As evcrjtliing connected -witli the state of religion 
in Britain, during the middle ages, will be interesting 
to the reader, I vrill give a short account of the most 
eminent Lollards, who -were cotemporary -with Wick- 
liff, or a few years after him. The most distinguished, 
in some respects, was Sir John Oldcastle, a Welshman, 
and a native of the county of Monmouth. His Welsh 
estate was called Castell Hen ; in English, Oldcastle. 
He married the Lady Cobham, and hence bore the 
title of Lord Cobham. Henry Y. was born in the 
town of Monmouth, while his parents resided there. 
Sir John was his boon companion, while he was Prince 
of Wales ; but as soon as the prince became king, he 
renounced his old habits, and his friend became a Lol- 
lard. They had been great friends, and were both 
possessed of fine talents, and very brave. The worst 
features in Henry's character were his popish bigotry 
and love of war, both of which his able but vicious 
father had taken pains to instil into him. As soon as 
the noble Welshman had embraced the pure religion 
of our Saviour, he used all diligence in spreading the 
knowledge of the truth ; and, being a rich man, he 
kept about twenty pious men employed in teaching 
the principles (^f Christianity throughout the dioceses 
of Rochester, London, and Hereford. Arundel, Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, accused him of heresy ; but the 
king, frt)m his friendship for Oldcastle, would not suf- 
fer him to be molested till he had some conversation 
with him, during which the good man told the king 
that he believed the pope was the beast of Revelation, 
which filled the king with horror, and, finding him un- 
shaken, he jjave him up to his enemies, who sent him 
(72) 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 73 

a prisoner to the tower ; but he escaped into Wales, 
where he remained in safety four .years. The wily 
priests finding there was small prospect of getting hira 
into their power from a country where there was no 
law against heresy, charged him with treason, tliat 
being a crime in Wales as well as in England. On 
that false charge he was arrested by Lord Powys, and 
taken to London, where he was hung by a chain over 
a slow fire till he died. So much for the tender mer- 
cies of popery. It is doubtful whether Lord Powys 
believed a word of the charge, and by arresting that 
distinguished Christian he brought an awful stigma on 
his own character. 

Walter Brute was the fellow-student of WicklilF, 
and all Welsh historians assert that tlicre were several 
Welsh students who associated with Wickliff and ]jrutc, 
and were of the same way of thinking. On one point, 
however, they disagree, some of them saying Wicklifl" 
learned his Lollardism from the Welsh students ; but 
Mr. Peter ascribes their conversion to Wickliff. But 
from the history of Brute, he appears, in all respects, 
to have been as distinguished a man as Wickliff; as 
to his personal qualities, Mr. Peter says, he opposed 
the taking of oaths, transubstantiation, paying tithes, 
the absolution of sins by the pope and priests, and 
said that the pope was antichrist and a deceiver. He 
was a man of distinguished family, a fine preacher, 
and preached extensively, and taught many persons 
of all classes. I ought to have said tliat Baptist wri- 
ters assert that he opposed infant baptism. Brute was 
called before the Bishop of Hereford, and made a 
most noble defence, but' escaped, after which nothing 
is said of him. The fact appears to be, that when the 
Welsh Lollards found that there were great storms 
gathering, they remained quiet in the remote regions 
among the Black Mountains. There was no law against 
them in Wales ; but there was danger of the kings of 
England bringing an overwhelming force to destroy 
7 



74 LETTERS ON WELSH IIISTOIlY. 

them ; and llioy jivobably would have done that, had 
not the Welsh chieftains found it to their interest to 
encourage Druidism and Lollardism as antagonistic to 
popery, as the papists were always inimical to that spi- 
rit of independence which the Welsh chiefs invariably 
maintained in their lowest state. But Avhen there was 
any movement in Eiigland, there was always a corres- 
ponding one in Wales. That the Welsh Lollards took 
pains to hide themselves in time of danger is certain : 
and this is so obvious, that the Rev. J. Tustin, in his 
historical discourse, delivered Avhen he was pastor of 
the church at Warren, Rhode Island, notices the fact, 
and says, that the difSculty of tracing the history of 
the AYelsh Lollards arose from the circumstance,- that 
it was their policy to conceal themselves. Mr. Tus- 
tin wrote exceedingly correct on the history of the 
Welsh. 

Another cotemporary with Brute was an eminent 
poet and divine, who "vn'Ote several theological works. 
His name was John ; but he was called John Kent, on 
account of his frequent and long visits to Kent Ches- 
ter, the residence of Mr. Scudamore, son-in-law to the 
renowned chieftain Owen Glendower ; and he was a 
'friend of the great chief himself. He is often called 
Dr. Kent ; but Avhat was the nature of his doctorate 
I never could learn. It does not appear he was a 
preacher; but as he knew more than most men of his 
time, he was accused by the stupid papists of holding 
intercourse with the devil. He and Brute were Silu- 
rians (the eastern district of South Wales). 

Cotemporary with these was David Ddu, or the 
Black of Cardiganshire, in Dimetia, the south-western 
district. He was also a poet and a learned man ; he 
translated large portions of the Bible into the Welsh 
langxiage. But a niOTik, Thomas Evan ab Rhys, ap- 
pears to have ]>reaohed very extensively, and was some- 
times obliged to sleep in the open air, being denied the 
rights of hospitality in a country noted for hospitable 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 75 

people; and the revival of religion was such that many 
of the monks of Margam, in Glamorganshire, left the 
monastery to spread a pure gospel. 

Roginauld Peacock was a native of Carmarthen- 
si i ire. lie v/as five years Bishop of St. Asaph, in 
Wales ; hut in 1444 he was removed to Chichester, in 
England, and there he taught publicly many things 
directly opposed to popery. Ilis teaching gave no 
offence in Wales; but in England the Church became 
alarmed, and Peacock was summoned to appear before 
the archbishop, when he defended himself with great 
ability, courage, and patience ; but, being condemned 
as an abettor of the doctrines of Wickliff, he was con- 
fined all his life in the monastery of Thorney, in 
Worestershire, with strict orders to the abbot not to 
allow him any writing materials, lest he should injure 
the Church by his writings. All the books allowed 
him were the Bible and mass book. 

About the year 1350, William I)e Breton (or Wil- 
liam the Welshman, in plain English,) wrote a work 
on the Bible, to explain all the difficult passages. 
When Erasmus published his first edition of the Bible, 
he left out the passage in the first epistle of St. John, 
" There are three that bear record in heaven," &c. 
Standisli, I'ishop of St. Asaph, attacked him, and 
produced the authority of De Breton for the genuine- 
ness of the passage, and, in consequence, Erasmus 
restored it in his next edition ; but the genuineness of 
the passage has been proved within a few years from 
works much more ancient than De Breton's. 

Upon mature consideration, I have come to the con- 
clusion that Lollardism in Wales did not arise from 
the labours of Wickliff; but that the Welsh Lollards, 
finding that the Dukes of Lancaster and Northumber- 
land, Lord Clifford, and other distinguished men in 
England favoured those views, they put forth greater 
exertions ; but when persecution arose in England 
they made themselves less conspicuous. 

From that time till the Reformation they made no 



76 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

extensive efforts to spread their tenets ; and ^Yhen the 
Germans and other nations hogan to move, the Welsh 
continued tor some 3'ears quiet ; but the reformers ral- 
lied them by tolling them bow their ancestors opposed 
the papacy more iirmly than any other people, and 
now, when all other nations were moving, they were 
doing nothing. This had the desired effect, for in the 
reign of Queen Elizabeth, popery is spoken of by 
Welsh writers as a defunct system. The edicts of 
kings and parliaments liave but small iniluonce on the 
minds of the NV'elsh ; the appeal must be to their rea- 
son. Sir James Mackiutosli said that the common 
people of Scotland were always what the lords and 
barons were in religion ; but this has never been the 
case in AVales, for there has always been there a large 
body of men in the common ranks of life who had 
greater inlluenco on the public mind in religious mat- 
ters. 

Mr. Peter, like other historians, stops to survey the 
ground in the reign of Henry Yll^ and says Wales 
then abounded in learned men ; and the reign of 
Queen Elizabeth was the Augustan age of Welsh 
literature, as there were in that reign upwards of 
forty men of independent means, who devoted all their 
time to the cultivation of the muses, besides a great 
number of ]ieople of the humbler classes. Archdeacon 
Prys, of ^Merioneth, produced a metrical version of 
the Psalms, superior to that of the English or Scotch; 
and Captain William ^liddleton, brother of Sir Hugh, 
who brought the new river water to London, produced 
another metrical version, in the highest metres known 
in Welsh poetry. This Mork was composed on board 
iif a man-of-war, which he commanded ; the Middle- 
tons were natives of Denbighshire. At the same time 
a new translation of the Bible Avas made, in which 
some of the faults in the English translation were 
avoided, and is altogether considered a very excellent 
translation. 



LETTER XI. 



As MANY men of eminent abililies have writLcn on 
tlie revelations of Daniel and .John, it would appear 
almost presumption in an Inunble individual to attempt 
to give any ne.w light on the subjeet ; " but there is 
a 8i)irit i)i man, and the inspiration of the Alniighty 
giveth them understanding." "Great men are not 
always wise." Of this hist position wc have abundant 
testimony in the writings of various men of great fame 
for learning and wisdom, in their remarks on the 
pro])hetie Serijjtures ; but whether I can give any 
additional light on the subject must be left to the 
judgment of the reader. 

That we have every encouragement to read and 
study the book of the Revelations is evident from tho 
introduction, for it is said to be " the Revelation of 
Jesus Christ, which God gave him to m!i,ke known 
unto his servants things wiiich must shortly come to 
pass ;" and in the outset there is a blessing pro- 
nounced on all who read and heard the words of tho 
prophecy and kept the things written therein. I 
cannot conceive a better antidote against the various 
errors that have been propagated, especially those of 
the I'apacy, than a clear understanding of the book 
of Revelations. The descriptions given there of tho 
Rapacy, and of the powers of the earth who were and 
are yet its supporters, are so graphic that it is a 
mystery to me how any man of sound mind, and to 
any considerable degree acquainted with the history 
of twelve or thirteen centuries past, can fail to under- 
stand its allusions. 

But thei'e is one page in the history of our race that 
has never yet been investigated, and till that is pro- 
7* (77) ■• 



78 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

perlj examined there -will be a dark spot in the best 
expositions of the Ivcvelatious, Avhich uill disfigure it 
ahnost as mueh as if a limner \yere to draw a picture 
of " the human face divine," and leave a black spot 
where the nose ought to be. The page I allude to is 
the history of "Wales. The eyes of all commentators 
have been so intensely engaged in viewing the actions 
of the mighty powers of Europe and other great 
divisions of our planet, that they have entirely over- 
looked the principality of Wales ; as if the importance 
of a region or a nation, in prophetic developments, 
depended upon geographical extent, or the number 
of bipeds who contrived to get a subsistence there. 
If such were the case Judea would have cut a sorry 
figure in the history of our world, and China must 
have absorbed as great a share as is sometimes exhi- 
bited in their own maps of the Avorld. 

But I apprehend that extent of land and the multi- 
tude of people are small matters in the estimation 
of prophets, and of Ilim who has given them inspira- 
tion. " Them that honour me will I honour ; but 
them that hate me shall be lightly esteemed." This 
is the great principle by which the importance of a 
people ought to be estimated by all who undertake to 
explain the prophetic Scriptures. The notoriety which 
is attached to wicked men in prophecy, arises from the 
necessity of the case, and not from the complacency 
of God towards them. Their prominence is the result 
of their enmity against the people and cause of the 
Redeemer, and the injuries they have indicted upon 
the human race ; the result will be that " they shall be 
an abhorrence to all flesh." This will be the result to 
wicked men and wicked nations — especially the Pa- 
pacy, and all those nations founded on the ruins of the 
Roman Empire, " who agreed to give their strength 
and power to the beast in wearing out the saints of the 
Most High." 

Nothing can be more plain than that the pure 
church of our Redeemer was to find protection and a 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 79 

safe asylum during the twelve hundred and sixty 
years designated as the reign of the beast ; for it is 
said tliat the Avoman, even the samo_ that brought 
forth the male cliild or male son, had wings of a great 
eagle given her, that she might fly into the wilderness 
to a place which God had prepared for her. And it 
is emphatically called her place ; and it is said that 
she should be fed there, and also that she should be 
nourished there, from the face of the serpent, or, in 
other words, out of his reach, and beyond his power to 
hurt. It is strange that so many eminent writers have 
attempted to explain the prophetic Scriptures without 
once stopping to inquire whether there was a civil 
state in Europe that never submitted to the Papacy, so 
far as to obey its dictates in the enforcement of its 
claims to universal control over the human mind, in 
matters of religious belief; and yet there was such a 
state in close vicinity to one of its most powerful 
supporters. 

In my letters on the "History of Wales," I have 
shown that there is no evidence that there ever was a 
law there to make religious belief penal ; but that two 
systems of religion did exist there, both in a great 
measure supported by certain revenues and the be- 
stowmcnts of land ; that all honours and dignities 
attached to these systems were free from the control 
of the civil power : so that, in fact, the civil power wag 
only a rampart thrOAvn around them to defend them 
from external violence. I have al«o shown that mul- 
titudes of the primitive Christians iled there in the 
early ages, and found protection and a safe asylum, I 
have also shown that about the same year that the Pa- 
pacy received its final establishment by the decree of 
Phocas, the Saxons, at the instigation of Austin or 
Augustin, the Pope's legate, came with a powerful 
army, for the purpose of destroying the primitive 
churches (over three hundred in number) then existing 
there ; and that, after destroying the great college of 
Bangor Iscoed, they were defeated by the princes 



80 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

of "Wales, aided by the prince of Cornwall. Now tliis 
was a plain fulfilment of the prophecy that the serpent 
should send water as a flood out of her mouth to carry 
away the church, and of the earth, or secular power, 
swftllowiniT that Hood. Tlic English writers have mcn- 
tioneil this invasion of "Wales and the destruction of 
Bangor ; but I never saw, in any of them, any account 
of the defeat of the Saxons very soon after by the 
Welsh. Had both sides of the story been told, it 
might have enlightened the minds of commentators, in 
some degree, on tlie twelfth chapter of Revelations, the 
latter part of which has been so far a blank to all 
eonnnentators. 

1 have also shown, that in the time evangelical reli- 
gion was lowest in Wales, Lollardism was so prevalent 
that it was characteristic of the people. In those 
times Lollardism and pure Christianity were synono- 
mous terms ; and I can bear testimony that the most 
enlightened preachers and writers in Wales, whenever 
the subject comes in the way, always exult in the fact 
that Wales and the Welsh people have been more 
especially blessed with tlio knowledge of salvation than 
any other people ; and this is not a vain boast, but 
from a full knowledge of historical facts, which prove 
to a demonstration that pure Christianity existed there 
in a more eminent degree than it did in any other 
country. 

Tiie ablest minds have been engaged in its defence, 
to the exclusion of almost all other subjects — except 
such as tended to promote ir, or the education of the 
people. Kings and princes might die, and nations 
might rise or fall with little notice ; but when an emi- 
nent and faithful minister of Christ died, even of the 
sect everywhere else spoken against, the loss would 
fill the minds of the great mass of the population with 
the most profound regret. The finest strains of 
poetiy, of the ablest minds in the principality, were 
called into requisition : and this not alone in the case 
of Enoch Francis, whom I have mentioned, but many 



LETTERS ON AVEl.SEI HISTORY. 81 

others ; 'and this, too, Avhen persecution was rife, not 
only ill Europe, but also in many of the English colo- 
nics in America. 

I am free to admit tluit a connected history of the 
Baptist churches cannot be traced in Wales, but there 
are many facts of histoiy tliat indicate very clearly 
that such was the case. The circumstances I have 
stated in former articles about the Cor, or circuit sys- 
tem which prevailed in the early ages, Avas also in 
being among the Baptist churches in Wales till very 
lately, and is not yet entirely abolished. Dr. Kippon, 
of .London, issued for a number of years, in the latter 
part of the eighteenth century, a yearly periodical, 
called Jlippon's Begister, in which there wero accounts 
of the Welsh Jjaptist Associations. Our late respected 
sister Mustin once favoured me with the loan of scvei'al 
of them. In these may be found the Church of Kil- 
vowyr, with eight pastors, and Llangloffan, with about 
seven, and others Avith lesser numbers ; n-ow these 
churches had about as many meeting-houses and con- 
gregations as there Avcre pastors, and there Avas no 
evidence that there was any design to imitate the 
primitive churches in this sort of order ; but the fact 
of such close resemblance gives countenanoo to a gen- 
eral belief among the Welsh ]Japtists, that their order 
continued in regular succession I'rom the early primi- 
tive churches. I'opei-y made great strides there during 
the middle ages, and the control of the ecclesiastical 
property fell into the })0Avcr of the papists. But as 
there Avas no laAv to enforce I'opi&li dogmas, and the 
poets and literati of Wales Avere, to a considerable 
extent, inclined to Lollardism and Druidism, associa- 
tions of pure Christians might and probably did exist. 
Nevertheless they found it expedient to avoid any 
great notoriety; they had all the enmity of the Pa- 
pists, and, since 1284, were subject to the kings of 
England. Hence it was that the earliest Baptists 
Avere found in remote valleys, at a distance from large 
towns, and this is a strong presumption that they were 



82 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

not raised through any foreign agency, but were 
indigenous. 

Although the Baptist churches were independent, 
^'■et an independent church of that order sometimes 
had eiglit or ten congregations ; hence I conchide that 
purely indopoudont or Congregational order was rather 
an English than a Welsh institution ; for a question 
■was once sent from Wales to an English Association, 
■which met at Bristol, "svhether it Avas right for a church 
to divide -when it had become so many congregations 
as to make it a serious inconvenience ? The answer 
was that they should by all means divide, and establish 
those branches as independent churches. This shows 
that the Welsh Baptists did not consider themselves in 
any degree superior in wisdom to their English breth- 
ren ; and it has been in a great measure by the advice 
and inliuenco of the English that the Welsh Baptists 
have given up the circuit system ; and yet within 
ten years I read a statistical account of about fifty 
branches, many of them having larger congregations 
and better houses of worship tlian the mother churches. 

The Indopeudents and Oalvinistic ^lethodists are 
each more numerous than the Baptists in Wales, and 
there is a considerable body of Wesleyan Methodists, 
and some good congregations in the Established Ohm'ch ; 
but as I am upon the perpetuity of a pure church, both 
in doctrines and ordinances, 1 speak of the only body 
that has any reasonable claim to antiquity in its present 
organization ; for it can hardly be asserted that either 
Daniel Bowland and his coadjutors, who raised the Oal- 
vinistic Methodists, or Bryan and other men who, after 
the death of Mr. Wesley, propagated his sentiments 
in Wales, were in their present organization a succes- 
sion of the primitive church. That they constitute a 
part of the genuine church of our Bedeemer, as now 
existing, there is no doubt, as many of them are true 
Christians ; and if a member of a Baptist church is not 
a Christian he is not Christ's ; in this respect these de- 
nominations are ou equal terms. But my subject is 



LETTERS ON WELSH UISTORY. 83 

the preservation of a pure church in some wlhl country, 
duriuf;- the hist 1250 years, under complete protection, 
and distinguislied in the Kevchitions from the two wit- 
nesses who prophesied in sackcloth, and distinct also 
IVom " the remnant of her seed," who .still continued in 
those regions whence the church had fled after she had 
reached her asylum, and on whom the serpent Avrcaked 
his vengeance when ho could not reach the mother. 
That the Holy Spirit makes a distinction between these 
different bodies of true believers, appears to mo abun- 
dantly plain, notwithstanding the mass of confusion in 
which all commentators I ever saw involve the subject. 
Much has been said of the llcformation, and it was 
a glorious event; but did the Germans, or the Swiss, or 
French, or Danes, or Swedes, preserve evangelical reli- 
gion ? I apprehend that there was in Great Britain a 
degree of energy in the mind and clearness of perception 
into the nature of gospel truth not known in any of those 
regions; and there is no part of .Britain that can claim 
to be the Wilderness of Revelation but Wales, for suf- 
ficient reasons, viz., that the pure gospel church was 
cruelly persecuted both in England and Scotland for 
many centuries, and as for Switzerland, there is not 
unrestrained liberty of conscience there even in the 
present day. The Baptist churches in the United 
States are for the most part the successors of the origi- 
nal Welsh churches, and founded upon the same plat- 
form as the English and Welsh Baptists. For that 
reason I am inclined to believe that the vision in the 
12th of Revelations was not intended to exhibit the 
state of the whole Christian church, but to show how 
God preserved the true church, (I mean that body 
which preserved the doctrines and ordinances of the 
gospel through all ages) till the Lord should destroy 
every enemy of his church. And I have no doubt that 
all vestiges of popery will be swept away, and the mil- 
lenial church will recognize its descent through Wales ; 
for both history and prophecy point directly in that 
way ; for in no other country did the pure gospel 



84 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

church receive toleration, much less food and nourish- 
ment, for many centuries. 

As for what is said of the coming of " the Pilgrims" 
to New England, it was a thousand years too late. 
That was an important event ; it would have been still 
more interesting had those Pilgrims been generally 
better examj^lcs of the Christian character ; but they 
were cruel persecutors, and "the woman" was not 
therefore a persecutor, but one seeking protection 
from persecution. 



LETTER XII. 



As tliero lias been considerable pains taken of late 
by men of different denominations to prove a regular 
succession from the primitive church, I think it is a 
question that will bear examination ; and I think also 
that there is in the Scriptures good ground to sustain 
the position, that the pure apostolic church was to be 
perpetuated, and this too so far as that God has re- 
garded a certain set of Christian people as the true 
succession of the original primitive church ; and this 
too while there were many faithful Christians in other 
countries, and persons regarded as true witnesses for 
the truth, and as much loved by the Lord as any ; and 
I believe there was a region where this church existed 
throughout all ages, and that it was the purpose of 
God to preserve it as the seed from which the millc- 
nial church was to proceed. I believe also, that there 
was a region where there existed certain principles and 
predilections more favourable to the preservation of 
evangelical truth than other countries. If this was not 
the case, what reason was there for saying that God 
had prepared a place for the church, where they should 
feed and nourish her from the face of the serpent ? I 
apprehend that there is an important meaning in these 
words — "from the face of the serpent" — that it signi- 
fies out of the serpent's power. I think, also, that 
food and nourishment have their importance. I feel 
very confident that the most faithful of our ministers 
feel the benefit of such things ; compared with the 
blessings of salvation, jDork and potatoes are very mean 
things, and yet such mean things are sometimes very 
convenient to the most eminent saints. 

When we look at the prophecies, and read of a wo- 

8 (85) 



86 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

man clotliod with the sun, having the moon under her 
feet, and on lier head a crown of tAvclvo stars, it is 
hard to descend in our mind frou\ the conteniphition 
of such splendid beauty, and realize that this was only 
a figure of the church on earth, and that this church 
is composed of men and women compassed about with 
many infirmities ; and yet of such materials is the 
church composed. . T\\e error of commentators gene- 
rally, is that they look upon the church described in 
the prophecies as a sort of abstraction ; and on this ac- 
count they talk about the church going into obscurity. 
But where is obscurity ? They have never yet told us 
what is its length and breadth, its latitude or longitude, 
or whether the soil will produce food for men and wo- 
men, or whether it is level or fertile, or ^Yild and moun- 
tainous. The llevelator tells us that the woman (mean- 
ing the church composed of men and women,) fled into 
a place in the wilderness. It was at least a wild region, 
but capable of supporting men and women. These 
were not missionaries going to pagan lands to propa- 
gate the truth, but pious Christians tlying to some place 
of refuge from the reach of enemies who were seeking 
to destroy them. 

And inasmuch as English commentators have never 
told us the whereabouts of obscurity, where they all 
consign the Hying church, I Avill give them a descrip- 
tion of the wilderness. T^he whole of it lays east of 
the fifth degree of west longitude from Greenwich, and 
between the parallels of fifty-one and fifty-three de- 
grees of north latitude, comprising an area of 8500 
square miles. It is called Wales by foreigners ; but 
the natives call it Cumry, because it is the land of the 
race of men of that name ; being descendants of Ash- 
kcnas, or Ascanias, the elder son of Gomer, and Go- 
mer being the elder son of Japheth, and Japheth the 
elder son of Noah, it follows that they are the elder 
branch of the human race. They are near one million 
of souls, and very near one-half of the adult population 
are members of evangelical churches. It is a wild. 



LETTERS ON "WELSH HISTORY. 87 

mountainous region, and often ealled Wild Wales by 
the natives ; this has been a familiar term for at least 
1300 years. It was never subject to the papacy, ex- 
cept for live years, from 155o .to 15/38, during the 
reign of a vile woman whom tlicy call liloody Mary, 
for she accomplished the death by burning of three 
faithful believers ; and these made up the whole num- 
ber of six martyrs put to death there, all by the power 
of foreign nations. The native population never put 
any person to death for their religious opinions. 

Now, if any person who is posted up on the subject, 
Avill give us as good an account of the position of the 
place that commentators call "Obscurity," and the 
character of its inhabitants, we can then compare 
notes, and judge to which the church fled. The Rev. 
John Wesley says that it was Glermany, and the flying 
of the church occurred when Boniface and his monks 
taught popery there ; but D' Aubignc says it was a cor- 
ruption of tiie gospel that they introduced. Dr. Adam 
Clarke says the church did not fly anywhere, but sank 
into coldness and formality in the Greek and Roman 
wilderness. Of course John must have known very 
little about the matter, for he said the church did fly ; 
but Dr. Clarke says she did no such thing. And here 
I must confess that I differ from Dr. Clarke, for I 
would give John the preference at any rate ; but how 
a man can flatly contradict the declarations of Scrip- 
ture, although spoken in figurative language, is more 
than a plain man like myself can comprehend; for 
these figures were intended to be understood, and they 
may be clearly understood if men could drop their na- 
tional prejudices and partialities. 

I know that by claiming any superiority in any re- 
spect to the Welsh, a man cannot but subject himself 
to a certain amount of ridicule ; but to ridicule any- 
thing that one knows nothing about, is not a mark of 
wisdom even in a doctor of laws or divinity. And we 
can easily prove that it was to Wales that the primi- 
tive Christians fled in the greatest numbers, and that 



88 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 



the right of private judgment in all matters connected 
with religion and civil rights were not respected any- 
where else ; and the very circumstance that the Chris- 
tian Church was nourished and fed, indicates that 
these rights were respected somewhere during the 
reign of the beast and his horns. And if the question 
of the perpetuity of the primitive church is of any 
importance, it is incumbent on those that deny that 
honour to the "Welsh to show where it was that the 
church was preserved, fed, and nourished. 

Now the Scripture is very clear on one point, that 
God is no respecter of persons, and that in his sight 
justice and truth are as much accepted in a Welsh- 
man as though he was of the Anglo-Saxon race, or a 
Scotchman, or a German. How comes it, then, that 
when we show from authentic history that their laws 
were more just than those of any other people, except 
those emanating from Heaven, that we are charged 
with national vanity ; and our unanimity in these 
matters, instead of giving additional weight to these 
considerations, subjects us only to a greater amount 
of incredulity? 

The doctrine of succession has been used by er- 
rorists to sustain their errors, and they have led many 
persons astray by their pretensions. We are willing 
to be taught as to the history of any people who have 
respected the right of private opinion ; but give us the 
facts of history, or show me wherein my interpretation 
of the vision fails. Is it not true that the church is 
composed of men and women ? And while their spi- 
ritual life is sustained by that bread that came down 
from Heaven, they have a life also that has need of 
far different food. But tliese things are below the no- 
tice of the commentators. How can "the woman" 
clothed with the sun want the spoils of the poor sheep 
for her dress ? but she has a nature that sutfers from 
inclement weather. A thatched cottage to her is a 
Godsend, for it will shelter her from the inclemency 
of the seasons. A company of her persecuted seed 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 89 

came to England in the reign of TIcnry II. ; but tlicy 
"were wliippcd and treated with all sorts of contumely, 
and turned out to perish in an inclement season; little 
did they know that there Avas a place of refuge so near. 
And is it any wonder that they did not know, when with 
every advantngc for investigating the history of Wales, 
j a look at the footstool of Sardanapolus, or an old mum- 
' my from the catacombs of Egypt, would now command 
more money in England and the United States, by ten 
times, than a course of the ablest lectures on the laws 
and institutions of Wales. 

I may be premature in my expositions of Welsh 
history ; but the day is not distant when these mat- 
ters will interest the minds of men far more than the 
pyramids of Egypt. It is because the nations are far 
less enlightened than many suppose them to be on all 
matters connected with spiritual religion and the na- 
ture and claims of truth ; that a subject so interesting 
as the fact that unrestrained liberty of thought and 
action in all that pertains to the aspirations of the 
mind was so long maintained in Wales, that these 
facts have been so. long unnoticed. And I write them 
because I owe that much to the cause of truth, and 
because I have given the subject a faithful investiga- 
tion ; and to me it is not a matter of vital importance 
whether men will believe mc or not; it' is enough that 
the duty has been fulfilled. 
8* 



LETTER XIII. 



A BRIEF examination of the " Revelations" of John 
may not be uninteresting to the reader. I remark 
that a large portion of the book is not prophetic, and 
some portions may bo considered as the drapery of 
the vision. It has a main chain of prophetic visions ; 
these consist of the book Avith seven seals. Under six 
of these seals are concealed the history of the Roman 
Em])ire, (with an allusion in the fifth to the martyrs,) 
till the overthrow of the pagan power, by Constantino, 
which is the subject of the sixth seal. But on the 
opening of the seventh, seven angels appear, having 
trumpets ; under the sound of the first four of these, 
the western en\pire is overturned ; then follows three 
woes, pronounced upon the inhabitants of the earth on 
account of the three trumpets that "were yet to sound. 
At this point the -s-ision changes from the western to 
the eastern portion of the empire, the fortunes of 
Avhich are followed in the ninth chapter, w^hen the 
Saracens appe^ir imder the fifth, and the Turks under 
the sixth ; and this brings down the state of the coun- 
tries constituting the eastern empire till the 11th of 
August, 1840, when the Sultan of Turkey came under 
the protection of the Quadruple Alliance, and the 
power of the Turks to aiilict the nominal Christians 
Avithin the empire was restrained. This leaves a great 
chasm in the prophecy, so far as relates to the western 
nations — of the proper Rouuin empire or fourth beast 
of Daniel. 

In the tenth chapter a ucav vision appears, and the 
prophet receives a new commission, in consequence of 
which the seer had to return again to early times. 
But before the new series of visions commence, the 

t 90 ) 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 91 

angel lifts up his hands to heaven, and swears by Ilim 
that liveth for ever and ever, that time should be no 
more, (or there should be no delay) ; but in the. time 
of the seventh angel, Avhen he shall begin to sound, 
the mystery of God shall be finished, as he hath re- 
vealed to his servants, the prophets. From this it 
appears plain that the subjects of the eleventh, twelfth, 
thirteenth and fourteenth chapters are not subsequent 
but cotemporary with the fifth and sixtli trumpets, 
the only exception is from the fifteenth to the eigh- 
teenth verse of the eleventh chapter, where the sound- 
ing of the seventh trumpet and its happy results is 
announced. But the seventh trumpet had its woe, 
and as nothing wofid appears on its annunciation, wo 
must look for its woe in the seven vials, for these con- 
stitute the woe of the seventh trumpet ; and, according 
to this interpretation, these vials could not have been 
poured out before the year 18-10. 

In the following chapters, the eleventh to tlic four- 
teenth, both inclusive, the revolator goes over the 
whole ground five times. The first time he is told to 
measure the temple of God, and the altar and the wor- 
shippers, but to leave the outer court unmeasured, to 
be trodden under foot of the Gentiles for forty-Lwo 
months, or twelve hundred and sixty days, denoting 
as many years, showing a great departure from primi- 
tive purity, by the largest portion of those that pro- 
fess the Christian name, for twelve hundred and sixty 
years. This is evidently a gcneial view of the sub- 
ject ; but then follows a more particular account of 
certain witnesses for the truth, no doubt referring to 
the Waldenses, and probably the Albigenses. The 
former broke off from tlie Church of Rome soon after 
the year 420, on account of the introduction of white 
robes, and continued, amidst much persecution, till 
168G, when the King of France and the Duke of Savoy 
killed great numbers of them, and drove the survivors 
into Switzerland in the midst of winter, the infamous 
James Stewart, the second of that name, being then 



92 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

king of Great Britain. But in the year 1688 a revo- 
lution occurred in Britain, which brought the illus- 
trious Prince of Orange on the English throne, -who 
had the fleets and armies of Britain and Holland at 
his service ; the Waldenses returned to their valleys, 
and their enemies dared not to molest them. Thus, 
at the end of three years and a half, in 1680, the wit- 
nesses came to life. 

In the last verse of the eleventh chapter another 
vision opens, with a view of the primitive church in her 
pristine purity, together with her great enemy, the 
Boman pagan empire, and the devil, the instigator of 
all its vilLanies. But the vision changes, and she who 
had just been seen with her crown, and her robes of 
light, becomes a fugitive, flying on wings to some wild 
region for protection from the face or from the 
reach and power of her enemies. Here we have 
Divine authority for the fact that there was one wild 
region where the pure Church of our Redeemer 
existed, and was fed and nourished through the twelve 
hundred and sixty years of the beast's reign. 

In the thirteenth chapter we have an account of the 
enemies of the church and their doings during the pro- 
phetic period of twelve hundred and sixty years. 

In the fourteenth, we have first a vioAV of the whole 
body of believers on earth, without distinction ; then 
follows the increase of light, signified by three angels 
flying through the midst of heaven, which ends in the 
Protestant Beformation ; then succeeds a harvest and 
vintage, denoting bloody wars in Europe. 

And now the consequences of the sounding of the 
seventh trumpet appear ; for seven angels are seen 
having the seven last plagues, for in them was the 
Avrath of God fulfilled. And here those that have ob- 
tained victory over the beast and his image, and the 
number of his name, have the harps of God, and sing 
the song of Moses and the Lamb, saying : " Great and 
wonderful are thy works, Lord God Almighty ! 
righteous and true are thy ways, King of Saints ! 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 93 

who would not fear thee, Lord, and glorify thy 
name, for thou only art holy, and all nations shall 
come and worship before thee, for thy judgments are 
made manifest." 

Thus we see that before any of the vials are poured 
out the church had obtained victory over the papacy, 
and saw such indications of the universal spread of 
Messiah's kingdom, and such clear indications of the 
Divine judgments upon their enemies, as to afford the 
fullest assurance that the glorious period for the uni- 
versal spread of truth was at hand. 

These two circumstances, viz. : the restraining of the 
power of the Turks to slay the third part of men, in 
1840, and the bright anticipations of the church pre- 
vious to the pouring out of the vials, fixes the period 
of the commencement of the sound of the seventh 
trumpet at the year 1840. Then follows the pouring 
of the vials. The first poured out his vial upon the 
earth, and a grievous and malignant sore fell upon the 
men Avho had the mark of the beast and worshipped 
his image. Could not this have been the potatoe rot 
and the pestilences that followed, which fell with such 
crushing v/eight upon the papists, especially those of 
Ireland. It was a terrible scourge that more than de- 
cimated a nation of eight millions. At the heels of 
this vial the French Revolution of 1848 came, which, 
I think, Avas the pouring of the second vial upon the 
sea or central kingdom of popery. Then followed the 
vial upon the rivers and fountains, or the neighbouring 
nations. Then came the vial on the sun, or revolution 
in the empire, and the emperor, by his OAvn power and 
that of Russia, was able to overcome those that re- 
volted against his power. Then followed the revolu- 
tion in Rome, the seat of the beast, which filled all 
papists with terrible apprehension for a time ; that 
was, I apprehend the fifth vial. 

The sixth vial is poured out upon the river Euphrates, 
and ibe waters arc di'iod up to make way for the kings 



94 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

of the East, which signifies at least that certain ob- 
structions to the march of armies from the regions 
east of the Euphrates should be removed ; but as 
there is but one great military power beyond the Eu- 
phrates, viz., British India, this seems to indicate that 
Great Britain will be a party in the last great struggle 
between liberty and despotism. And now under the 
sixth vial, three unclean spirits, like frogs, are seen 
going out of the mouth of the beast, and the dragon, 
and of the false prophet. The dragon is the Emperor 
of Germany, the head of the house of Austria ; the 
beast is the pope, or the papacy ; but I am not sure 
which is the false prophet, unless it is the eastern anti- 
christ, of Avhich the Emperor of Russia is the head. 
These will collect the nations together, and they are 
collected under the sixth vial, but the war comes under 
the seventh, at the pouring of which a great voice comes 
from the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, 
"It is done." This is followed by terrible judgments 
and the fall of cities, and Babylon, or the power of 
the papacy, and the kingdoms which are its supporters 
come in remembrance before God to give her the cup 
of the fiercest wrath, but yet they rebel and revile 
God because of these plagues. And now in the be- 
ginning of the seventeenth chapter there is a long 
digression to show us the character and doom of the 
papacy, if not of Rome, its seat, which causes great 
lamentation among the kings and people of the Romish 
persuasion, and finally a strong angel takes up a stone 
like a great millstone and casts it into the sea, saying, 
" Thus with violence shall Babylon, the great city, be 
dashed down and never be found again." Then fol- 
lows a description of entire and complete desolation, 
because in her was found the blood of prophets and of 
saints, and all that were slain upon the earth. But it 
is not certain whether the city of Rome will be in- 
volved in this desolation, or only the antichristian 
power. 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 95 

And nbw, in the beginning of the nineteenth chap- 
ter, we have songs of praise by the heavenly powers, 
ascribing salvation, and glory, and power to the Lord 
our God, for his judgments are true and righteous, 
&c. After this, in the eleventh verse, he returns to 
give an account of the last great battle in which all 
the enemies of the church are destroyed, and these 
comprise all the despotic kingdoms of Europe. In 
this last battle our Lord Jesus Christ is represented 
as leading the armies which destroy these enemies, 
no doubt by his providence. According to my cal- 
culations, the armies of these enemies are now being 
gathered, for it is a remarkable fact, that it is only 
under the sixth and seventh vials the line between 
the enemies and friends of our Redeemer are dis- 
tinctly drawn. And we see that Kossuth, the most 
distinguished republican of the present contest, is a 
decided Christian, and is acting on Christian prin- 
ciples, and the contest now about to be waged is 
in behalf of individual rights and liberty of con- 
science, which will open the way for the universal 
spread of pure Christianity; free protestant nations, 
particularly Great Britain, must take care to be on 
the right side, for most assuredly the time for the 
overthrow of all the enemies of pure Christianity is 
just at hand. Infidelity has nearly run its race, and 
the fact that liberty is well established in Britain and 
the United States, in connection with a strong reli- 
gious belief, is making a deep impression upon the 
republicans of the old world. 

I cannot see any reason why regal government may 
not continue in Britain, unless it opposes the kingdom 
of Christ ; but most assuredly if the governing power in 
Britain takes part with the despots, the crown will fall. 
The pope attained to supreme power by the decree of 
Phocas in 606, and its lease of twelve hundred and sixty 
years is out in 1866. Less than fifteen years remain, 
and from present indications those years will be stormy, 



96 LETTERS Oi!^ WELSH HISTORY. 

and the kingdoms that support the papacy will fall 
about the same time. Appearances are often deceitful, 
but those kings are not endowed with almighty power, 
but there is an Almighty power that has fixed their 
destiny ; and the fact that they have so long tyi-annized 
over the human race gives them no security when the 
day of wrath -shall come, and that day is at hand. 



LETTER XIV. 



I AVOULD wish to address all the well-wishers of this 
work, and the public generally, on behalf of the work. 
What merit belongs to this history, arising from cer- 
tain characteristics that I think will give it consider- 
able value to the Welsh, and also to the American, is, 
that I have cut loose Welsh history from all connec- 
tion with extraneous matter. The error of all Welsh 
historians, as far as I have seen, is that in giving the 
history of the race, they have included the various 
Celtic tribes, and all the nations of the Continent who 
are supposed to have any affinity, either in blood or 
language, with the ancient Cimmerian race, who, 
doubtless, were the first inhabitants of a large portion 
of Europe. This course is about as wise as if a man 
in writing the history of Vermont, would go into the 
history of the Anglo-Saxon race, and tell their origin 
in Germany and progress in England. But if a man 
is going to write the history of Vermont, let us know 
what was done in the Green Mountains. It is enough 
merely to say that they are of that race, and that 
their last remove was from "the fast anchored Isle," 
and that they still maintain the honour of their race. 
For what has the conquest of India or the settlement 
of Australia to do with Vermont or the battle of Ben- 
nington? This is the plan I have adopted in the 
history of Wales. That the Welsh are the chief branch 
of the Cimmerian race there is no doubt, and their 
history is of more value than all of the other branches 
combined. For "what is the history of Ireland?" 
"A blank, my Lord." (Shakespeare.) The Irish 
writers admit " that there is not one green spot in 
their history for the last six hundred years." But 
9 (97) 



98 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

there is an interest in Welsh history, if it is but in 
their audacious courage and sclf-^ill, "which ■would 
never succumb to the papacy when all the most potent 
monarchs of Europe placed their necks and backs at 
the disposal of the pope and his minions. And we see 
it in Eoirer Williams, who went alone anions; savacres, 
rather than sufier the dictation of priestlings ; and in 
Cromwell and Milton: and in Daniel WilHams, who 
laid before King William III. the terms on which he 
was to reign in Britain. We see it in Caractacus, the 
first of the race that appears in authentic history. 
His bravery in war, and his noble bearing in misfor- 
tune, have gained him a fame and admiration equal to 
the most successful of the human race. The interest 
of history does not depend upon the extent of terri- 
tory, or the number of people, but upon the character 
of the people and the principles they have cherished. 
A single expedition of a nation to save a neighbouring 
people from destruction by a more potent nation, is of 
more real interest than all the conquests of the 
Romans. And the generous chivalry of Lafayette has 
done more honour to humanity than all the mighty 
deeds of Alexander, Julius Cwsar, and Bonaparte, 
combined. And here we have the histoiy of a people 
who, though brave, never waged a war of conquest, and 
who oftener exercised their energy in defence of other 
nations than any other people : who never sunk imder 
misfortunes, and who, in the long run, obtained vic- 
tory over every enemy. For did they not obtain vic- 
tory over ancient Borne under Constantine, and over 
England under Tudor ? And the time is not far dis- 
tant Avhen they will witness the angel taking up a 
great stone, like a millstone, and casting it into the 
sea, saying. With violence shall Babylon be cast down. 
Nations, as well as individuals, have their identity ; 
and this consists as nnich in principles and language 
as it does in blood. And here is a nation which has 
maintained its identity, and its great principles, and 
its lan^uaae almost unchanj^ed, while the site of 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 99 

Babylon has been lost. And tlie Persian, the Greek, 
and lloman Empires have been swept away, and the 
" ten horns" are ready to drop from the head of the 
beast, and yet they are there in the same mountains, 
speaking the same language still, not surpassed by any 
people in the purity of their morals, in the correct- 
ness of their religious principles, the ardor of their 
feelings uncooled, and their reason as unclouded as 
ever. Is it not well known that people in this coun- 
try, when they go to hear a Welsh minister, always 
expect to hear something of great interest, and are 
seldom disappointed ? And those that go to hear 
Welsh ministers are not the ignorant or superstitious, 
but the very elite of American minds ; men who are 
accustomed to listen to the preaching of native 
preachers of the highest order. It is a great matter 
for the people of that secluded mountainous region to 
match, if not in some respects overmatch, American 
minds. 

I have selected from " The Triads of the Social 
State," eighteen pages of pretty closely written matter 
connected with the laws, the jurisprudence, and social 
regulations of the Welsh, which will accompany these 
letters. There is in them some things that may amuse, 
but far more that will instruct and gratify the Ameri- 
can people ; and I am mistaken if they are not some- 
what surprised that such splendid principles and laws 
as these could have existed in Britain, and still remain 
unknown to the people of the United States. IIoav 
comes it that the English have neglected Wales and 
taken so much pains to search for the throne and foot- 
stool of Sardanapalas ? But so it is. For just that 
much are physical matters superior in interest over 
the mental, in the estimation of the great majority of 
men. But here will be a work, though small, that will 
afibrd food for minds. It will, I think, have more in- 
terest to enlightened minds than any romance ; and I 
have no doubt but the very circumstance that it is the 
production of a mind never disciplined imder able 



100 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

teachers, ■will not lessen its interest ; for although born 
in Wales, I was hut twelve jo^ys old on landing in 
this country. My habits of thought are American, 
for almost all I have learned I have learned in the 
United States, I received what little education I have 
in Charles street, in the district of Spring Garden, 
right on the edge of Pejrg's Run, now Willow street. 
It was by the study of American laws and institutions 
that my mind was prepared to appreciate the excel- 
lence of the ancient institutions of Wales, which are so 
like them ; on some points inferior, and on others su- 
perior. My learned countrymen, both in Wales and 
the United States, have awarded to me the palm of 
victory in writing the history of Wales. How comes 
this? Is the shop of the mechanic a better school of 
high mental exercise than Oxford or Cambridge ? I 
took a peculiar course of mental discipline early in life, 
and for the benefit of our rising 3'outh I will give some 
account of my system. It is partly Welsh and partly 
American ; for believe me, dear youth, there is no bet- 
ter school than to study the great principles of these 
two nations, and both in the light of Divine Revela- 
tion. I took a very deliberate view early in life of 
my position in a world into which I was brought with- 
out any action of my own Avill, but nevertheless re- 
sponsible for my OAvn actions in it ; and I saw very 
soon that there was a right and a wrong way ; that 
there was in my nature certain propensities that were 
in opposition to the dictates of my reason ; and amidst 
the jarring opinions that had obtained in the world, 
some might be right and others wrong. How to attain 
a knoAvledge of tlie ritrht wav and avoid the wrong, 
became a question of great interest ; but there were in 
my father's house several copies of a book of ancient 
date which purported to be a revelation of the Divine 
mind, and contained all that was needful to guide the 
young in their strange journey, where every step in life 
was new. To this dear sacred book I betook myself 
early in life, so that mj father, once in conversation 






LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 101 

with a friend about concordances of the Bible, re- 
marked that his son Sam had no need of a concord- 
ance. Whatever of mental power I possess, or of cor- 
rect thinking, is due to having taken the Scriptures as 
"a light shining in a dark phice." 

In forming the mind I saw that there were two errors, 
one Avas to have a vanity of thinking differently from 
all other men, and the other was to follow implicitly 
the lead of others. How to avoid these extremes was 
another question ; and where can a youth resort, but to 
Him Avho promised his Holy Spirit to guide into all 
truth ? To him I did resort, and prayed that he would 
guide me in the right way. Nor was my prayer re- 
jected ; for I saw the way plain that every opinion of 
man was to be weighed in the balance of reason, and 
examined in the light of Revelation. I have sought for 
wisdom as a hid treasure, and valued its revenues more 
than gold. I have read the histories of all nations, 
and weighed their religious and political systems, and 
tried their principles in the points of their main 
strength, and all has tended to strengthen my faith in 
the "word of truth." When invited to go and hear 
new and strange doctrines I have refused, and when 
men have told me I ought to hear both sides, my an- 
swer was, that if I had a beautiful parlor, finished in 
exquisite style, was it to be supposed I would furnish 
it with old broken Avheclbarrows and other trumpery. 
No, truly ; there Avas in the Bible and in the Avorks of 
learned and pious men just such furniture as suited 
my mind. And Avhen duty called me to mix with infi- 
dels, all they said had just about as much effect on my 
mind as a stream from the spout of a tea-kettle would 
have upon the rock of Gibraltar. Infidels may say 
that this is prejudice ; but it is not so. Prejudice is 
to judge without proper examination. Infidelity rests 
upon one point, viz., the denial of divine revelation ; 
but if the mind is fully convinced of the truth of that, 
by reason and experience of its power to save, all the 
details of infidel principles are scattered to the wind. 
9* 



102 LETTERS OX WELSH HISTORY. 

A slio;ht indulaience in rcadlnof romances I found 
would ruin the poM'er of the mind ; and, although 1 
found a strong propensity to it, it was eschewed, as was 
also strong drink. All these things are ruinous to the 
immortal mind. It requires a strong restraint on the 
human mind to preserve it from deterioration. But in 
this are the issues of life and immortality ; for what is 
the glory and dignity of the millionaire compared with 
the humble mechanic or labourer, who has made the 
word of Ood his guide, and has his soul feasted on 
"redeeming grace and d3'ing love," and can look with 
confidence over Jordan to the green and flowery meads 
of immortality, and his soul forever at rest in the pres- 
ence of his Maker and Redeemer ; for, although we 
know but little of what we shall be, we do know that 
we shall be like our divine Redeemer, for we shall see 
him as he is. You may err on many things, as I have 
erred ; so does the most stately ship; Avhen buffeted by 
the contrary winds ; but watch well the needle, and 
tmm the prow in the right direction, and you will at 
length arrive safe in the haven of eternal peace and 
rest. 



LETTER XV. 



With respect to the question, whether Baptist 
churches existed in Wales through all ages since the 
first introduction of the gospel, I can only say, that it 
has been asserted in historical works, that Walter 
Brute, a coteniporary of Wickliff, did not approve of 
infant baptism, and there was no sprinkling in his 
time in Wales ; and I am satisfied from the general 
aspect of history, that the claim of the Baptists that 
they are the descendants in church succession of the 
Welsh Lollai'ds, is by far the most clear, for wo can 
fix the origin of every other denomination ; but the 
origin of the Baptists in Wales, as in other countries, 
is hidden in the " remote depths of antiquity." Under 
these circumstances, they are justified in claiming the 
important position of being a succession of the primi- 
tive Apostolic church, and inasmuch as it is plainly 
said in the twelfth chapter of the Bevelations, that the 
cl lurch should flee into the wilderness to a place Avhich 
God had prepared for her, where she should be fed and 
nourished from the face of the serpent, while at the 
same time other believers, denominated witnesses, 
were still existing in other regions, clothed in sack- 
cloth, and also others called the remnant of her seed, 
in those regions whence the church, denominated " tl\e 
woman" had fled, and as Wales was the only region 
that allowed liberty of conscience in all Europe, our 
claim is sustained both by history and prophecy.- But 
in this, we do not pretend to deny all other persons in 
Britain, and other countries who love our Lord, a place 
in his church; but the question is, where were the 
doctrines and ordinances of the gospel maintained in 
their purity throughout the period denominated " the 

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104 LETTERS ON "WELSH HISTORY. 

reign of the beast?" In answer to this question, it is 
not competent to sliow that Austin and his forty monks 
disseminated the dogmas of popery in England, or that 
Boniface and another horde did the same in Germany 
two hundred years subsequent to this, or that the 
Wakienses were preserved amidst cruel persecutions 
for many ages, for the Dukes of Savoy did their ut- 
most to destroy them at different times. In Wales 
there was not only perfect liberty of conscience, but 
the kindest protection ; their brave warriors always 
faced the foe. Popery was there for some centuries ; 
so it is in the United States. But the priesthood can- 
not enact their anto da fes here ; nor could they in 
Wales. Even at the time when the King of England 
walked barefooted five miles, and that to bo whipped 
by the priests on the bare back, till the blood flowed 
over his heels, and the Emperor of Germany suftered 
the Pope to tread on his neck, at the same time using 
the most insulting language ; the priests often cursed 
the Welsh, but always took care to get on English 
ground first. They valued their necks too highly to 
curse a Welshman, and remain within the reach of his 
sword. This is a fixed fact in all histories. And even 
now Wales is the very focus of pure Christianity in 
Europe, although there are many good Christians in 
other parts of that quarter of the globe, especially in 
England and Scotland ; and it is a most important 
fact that the best principles in religion and civil 
government in the New World Avere disseminated by 
the early Welsh settlers. Their minds on such sub- 
jects were as clear as light. There is not an instance 
recorded in the history of these States, from the com- 
mencement of their settlement, of a Welshman giving 
credence to an accusation of witchcraft, or any other 
superstition, or countenancing any violation of the 
freedom of conscience in any man. 

It is not pleasing to any intelligent man to see the 
history of his native land and his race turned into a 
nose of wax by ignorant or prejudiced writers, and still 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 105 

less SO Avlien such misrepresentations tend to darken 
the ways of Providence, as foretold in the Holy Scrip- 
tures, -which declare in such explicit terms, although in 
figurative language, that God had prepared a place 
for the church in some "wild region, where she "was fed 
and nourished out of the reach of her enemies. And 
I have already stated that pure evangelical truth was 
maintained in Wales through all ages, and that the 
church was defended there hy a guard of 60,000 war- 
riors, the bravest of all the human race. If truth was 
to be preserved through a living church, during the 
great apostacy, there was some object in view. And 
what could that object be, if it was not as the seed of 
the glorious millenial church ? And if that was the 
design, where could that design be carried out so well 
to preserve the truth as in Britain, the great civilizer 
of the world. 

My next point is to show that there was no other 
people but the Welsh that had the right sort of sta- 
mina to maintain the truth. We are not to measure 
the great nations now inhabiting Britain and the 
United States, for these nations did not then exist ; 
for a portion of their ancestry were in Britain, debased 
by the power and vices of the Romans, and others in a 
state of barbarism in Germany and Scandinavia, from 
which state of degradation they were just emerging 
three hundred years ago. And their deliverance was 
greatly hastened by the victory of the Welsh, under 
the Earl of Richmond, over the army of England, 
under Richard III., which resulted in the establishment 
of a Welsh dynasty on the throne, and a great change 
in the national policy. But for that event I cannot 
see why England became Protestant any more than 
Spain or France, for I am sure that till then France 
maintained a far greater degree of independence of the 
Pope's domination than England. England is now 
the only country of all the ten kingdoms called " horns 
of the beast" that has thrown off the papal yoke; for 
Protestant Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Norway 



106 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

were never subject to the Roman Empire, and, of 
course, could not constitute any of those kingdoms 
founded on its ruins, " who agreed to give their power 
and strength to the beast in wearing out the saints of 
the Most High." 

That the minds of the "Welsh were superior to all the 
ancient nations, is very clear, from their history and 
institutions, always excepting the inspired writers, but 
not excepting the mass of the descendants of Israel. 
This superiority appears in the clearer development of 
the faculty of reason, the highest faculty of the human 
mind. This is proved by the facts of history ; for they 
never worshipped idols. They had a clearer idea of 
the nature of truth, in relation to its immutability and 
its claims on the human race, as to its reception and 
the rights of men to receive the truth, and acted accord- 
ing to its requirements ; and they were the only nation 
known in history that did not dogmatize on religion, 
and enact laws to enforce their dogmas, with severe 
pains and penalties. They Avere, in fact, a people 
" seeking after the truth." Hence it was that, although 
in great darkness, under the Druidical religion, their 
minds were not case hardened like those of the Jews, 
who were so filled with self-righteousness and malice 
that when the true light came " the darkness compre- 
hended it not." Nor were they like the Greeks and 
Romans, who never based their religion on truth, but 
upon the legal enactments of the civil power and tradi- 
tion. Religion was valued in Wales only in proportion 
as it was believed to be founded on truth. It was that 
alone that gave it value ; for the civil State never en- 
acted laws to regulate the subject of belief, although 
as a matter of policy, it gave certain support to 
ministers of religion, both the Druidical and Christian, 
together Avith poets and minstrels. All that was re- 
quired in order to obtain their stipends or lands, was 
that they had attained their degrees in their various 
orders. Even the order of nobility in Wales had the 
sole control of admitting members, although it is pro- 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 107 

bable that in the outset the order was established by 
the National Assembly, and its rules defined, for the 
Welsh observed the strictest rules in such matters. 
The whole subject of religious truth being thus left 
free, it is natural to suppose that such a people would 
examine the subject with minds less biassed, and more 
open to conviction, than other nations ; and when such 
a people received a new religion from choice, and upon 
conviction of its truth, it was natural for them to 
maintain it with more steadiness than such nations as 
were only governed by legal enactments, like the 
Romans who, when the emperors received or adopted 
the Chi'istian religion, followed suit, and taking the 
gold cloth from the old black image of Jupiter, covered 
it with a fisherman's coat, and called it Peter, and this 
Avas about the sum and substance of the conversion of 
the Romans to the Christian faith. It was natural for 
such a people to introduce the images. of saints into 
tlieir worship, to fill up the vacuum left in their 
system by the banishment of the inferior gods ; for 
both the Romans and the Greeks were as much 
Pagans after their conversion as they were before, 
only filled with deeper malice against the true fol- 
lowers of our Redeemer. This was the general rule 
in those nations ; but there were individual exceptions. 
Between the other nations and the Welsh the rule 
was in inverse proportion ; the evil-minded in Wales 
were the exception, and never had the legal power nor 
the Aveight of public opinion to sustain them in their 
opposition to the truth, even when all other nations 
had combined to destroy the gospel and its advocates. 
We have Scriptm-e authority that not only indivi- 
duals but whole communities were more open to con- 
viction and more candid than others ; for the people 
of Berea are said to have been more noble in this re- 
spect than those of Thessalonica, although the latter 
people were in advance of the great mass of mankind. 
In reading ecclesiastical history and commentaries on 
prophecy, I have thought it passing strange that none 



108 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

of these learned writers have ever noticed the im- 
portant fact that a civil state existed in Europe 
throughout all ages, since the sixtieth year of the 
Christian era, till ten years after the King of England 
had renounced the Pope's supremacy, without a single 
enactment of any kind to obstruct the human mind in 
its inquiries after the truth of religion. At the same 
time, all the learned and -well-informed natives assert 
that the truth of the gospel was maintained there 
during that whole period. 

I do not intend to say that the Welsh were more in- 
genious in their reasoning than the Greeks. But the 
object was far dift'erent ; for the Welsh reasoning was 
intended to elucidate tlie truth. The one great object 
of the Greek philosophy, generally, was to dress up 
falsehood in the garb of truth, and to abolish in the 
human mind all definite idea of a difference between 
truth and error. They had need of genius in such 
a work. The result has been that they and their apt 
scholars, the Romans, have given birth to the "mystery 
of iniquity," Avhich has cursed the world now for more 
than 1200 years. 

No problem in history can be more easily explained 
than the origin of those great principles of human 
rights now so much and deservedly prized in the 
world ; for they originated in Wales, and were the 
law of the land there from its earliest history. The 
world is tardy in its acknowledgment, but the time is 
not distant, Avlien the nations will do justice to Wales. 
I already see it " blushing round the spheres." The 
nations in general, as they now exist, received their 
first knowledge of Christianity mixed with errors from 
Rome. And it is because I want to turn the eyes of 
men from that seat of corruption, that I take so much 
pains to give the history of its most determined an- 
tagonist, which the Welsh nation imdoubtedly were for 
a period of at least 1000 years. 

Not only was the reasoning of the Welsh more con- 
clusive, but their indomitable courage made them 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 109 

suitable 'instruments to preserve the truth. " The 
kingdom of heaven sufFereth violence, and the violent 
take it by force." Any man that looks at the general 
conduct of the Irish and the Welsh might suppose that 
the latter people are by far the most easy to control ; 
but if once they come in contact with the two races, 
they will find that under that quiet demeanor there is 
a most determined will, and often a most obstinate 
spirit ; he may ask advice, but almost invariably fol- 
lows the bent of his own mind. 

They are peaceable because they are intelligent, 
and generally virtuous. But if a man wants to under- 
stand the Welsh character, he can find it truly drawn 
by Knowles, in the character of Roger Williams. In 
him the Welsh character appears in a very high de- 
gree of sublimation. They were the right people to 
deal with the papacy. They cannot brook that conti'ol 
which the Roman priests exercise over their flocks. 
The dogmas of popery contradict the deductions of 
their reason. They are difficult to lead, and hard to 
drive. They put no value on the gorgeous displays of 
popery. A sound reason may convince their under- 
standing, but any assumption of authority from Pope 
or bishop only creates contempt — bad materials out 
of which to make papists. The consequence is, that 
nearly all their churches are on the Congregational or 
Independent order ; and a larger proportion of these 
are Baptists than is found in any country of Europe 
beyond all comparison. 

The Welsh language excels all others, living or 
dead, for copiousness, for the regularity of its con- 
struction, and the strictness of its rules. Hence, it is 
never mixed, in conversation, with any other language. 
I believe this perfection in the construction of the 
language has been the result of sound reason and 
clearness of intellect. And I think that there is a 
closer connection between a correct language and cor- 
rect principles than many persons would suppose. I 
have heard some men of considerable intelligence 
10 



110 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

speak very lightly of our pretensions to a superior 
language ; but it is not wise to hold in contempt the 
judgment of intelligent men Avho are masters of the 
Welsh language. I am not an accurate grammarian, 
but I understand the Welsh language as well as the 
English, and I give my full assent to the superiority 
of the Welsh. Is it reasonable to suppose that a 
people who, of all nations, have produced the most 
splendid code of moral and social principles, and have 
been the most accurate in their views of religious 
truths, are blunderers irl language ? The pronunciation 
of the Welsh language is difficult, but I doubt whether 
any language in the world can be more easily ac- 
quired as a dead language, as the original vrords are 
not very numerous. The copiousness of the language 
arises from the use of about three hundred prefixes 
and affixes, the use of which is easily understood, and 
invariable in their application. The Welsh language 
has borrowed nothing from any known language ; its 
resources are all its own. 



LETTER XVI, 



Once more I take the liberty of reminding the pub- 
lic of my Welsh History, lest they forget it amidst 
the turmoil of life, and the Roman Catholics should 
steal our thunder ; for a question of precedence lays 
between them and the Protestants. Already they are 
undermining me ; for Dr. Moriarty, on St. Patrick's 
day, (the better the day the better the deed,) took 
away the renowned Aserius, of whom the Welsh are so 
justly proud, because he was the chief counsellor of 
King Alfred the Great, in making his reforms in the 
Saxon laws ; and they not only took him from the 
Welsh, but made him an Irishman, although the rest 
of mankind, for one thousand years, including Aserius 
himself, always thought him a Welshman. 

Moore, the Irish poet, (peace to his ashes,) had, some 
years ago, taken from us Morgan, commonly called 
Pelagius ; and I have in my possession a number of 
the Boston Pilot, in which there is an article on the 
Chronology of Ireland, in which it is said that Henry, 
Earl of Richmond, commonly called Perkin Warbeck, 
was crowned in Trinity Church, Dublin, and, landing 
in England, was taken prisoner, and made a scullion 
in the King's kitchen. But the erudite writer does 
not tell us who the king was. It must, however, have 
been King Richard III., who Shakspeare, together 
with the whole of the historians, tell us was killed at 
Bosworth field ; for he was the only King the Earl 
fought against. Heretofore, all the Avise men (myself 
included) thought that the Earl of Richmond landed 
in Wales, and marching into England, killed King 
Richard, and mounted the throne, without saying, "by 
your leave, sir," to John Bull. And when Lambert 

(111) 



112 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

Simnel tried for the throne under false pretences, this 
same Earl, then King Henry VII., (of money loving 
memory,) defeated his army, and made him turnspit in 
his kitchen ; and afterwards Perkin Warheck was 
crowned in Dublin, but had his army defeated, and 
was afterwards beheaded, because he tried to escape 
from pi'ison. 

This is the vulgar history of these affairs. But ridi- 
cule apart, this is the kind of mental aliment that the 
Roman Catholics receive from their humane priests 
and journalists. But I am not going to feed your 
minds with such baseless stuff; for I am going to show 
you, both from prophecy and history, that the Chris- 
tian church was fed and nourished in Wales through- 
out the reign of the beast. I will also prove to you 
that they had the best laws of any people, that they 
not only admitted inalienable right to life, liberty, and 
the pursuit of happiness, but also found every citizen 
a homestead of five acres to live in. In this they ex- 
celled the people in this country ; for this government 
will sell their lands to the Grand Turk, or, what is still 
worse, to the Pope, or the Emperor Nicholas, but care 
nothing whether the citizens have a place to lay their 
heads without paying rent, and failing to do that, they 
may go into the road and be lodged in jail as vagrants. 
If a foreigner was found in Wales by shipwreck or any 
other cause, the State was bound to support him till he 
was restored to his country, lest the stranger should 
die of hunger and cold. 

But if I were to tell you all the lovely features of 
the Welsh institutions, you would think me only a 
braggart, for I have already received a hint of this 
kind from a distinguished man. But if I get one 
thousand good, reliable subscribers, (and I take it for 
granted every one who will give me his name is both,) 
I will "give chapter and verse" for all the material 
facts ; nor will I claim any of the English, Scotch or 
Irish as Welshmen, for a very good reason, besides my 
honesty, that we have enough of our own men. The 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 113 

wealthy have no need to turn thieves, if they did they 
ought to be hung "without benefit of clergy." For 
this was the Welsh law ; that if any man stole to the 
amount of four byzants, it was a capital crime, unless 
it should appear he Avas in pressing want, and called at 
several houses and they refused to supply him. In 
that case, stealing was no crime in Wales. Being a 
Welshman myself, and finding in history more famous 
men than fell to the lot of any other people of the same 
number, I have no need to rob other nations. 

Now I will give my readers some account of the 
meeting of the Bardic Institute, last September, at 
Port Madoc, in North Wales — an institution that dates 
beyond the Advent, being probably the most ancient 
literary institution in the world, and beyond a doubt, 
the most liberal of all ancient institutions, always ex- 
cepting the pure Gospel Church. 

The institute is invited to attend under the following 
proclamation :'" 

"the TRUTH AGAINST THE WORLD." 

" Know all men that an Eisteddvod (sitting) of the 
bards and minstrels will be held in the year of Christ, 
one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, when the sun 
shall be on the point of the Autumnal Equinox, within 
the liberties of the town of Tre Madoc, in the province 
of Gwynedd, under the patronage of the county, and 
that of Mrs. Maddocks, Mrs. Gwynne, and Sir Love 
Parry, for the purpose of encouraging and cultivating 
native poetry and other sciences, and of granting in- 
struction, patronage, degree and license to all those 
who shall apply for the same, according to the privi- 
leges of the bards of the Island of Britain, and there 
present the three primitive bards of the Island of 
Britain, namely : Plenydd, Alawn and Gwron, and 
with them, leuan Glan Geirionydd, Gwilim Caledfryn, 
Morys William, Gwilim Hiraethog, Gwilim Emrys, 
Ivan Madawg, Sion Wyn o Eifion, Alltud Eifion, and 
others, being all bards according to the rights and in- 
10* 



114 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

stitutes of the bards of the Island of Britain, and 
hereby is given an invitation to all who may choose to 
repair hither, where no naked weapon shall appear 
against them, and where a judgment of a Bardic Gor- 
sedd shall be pronounced upon all poetry and other 
literary productions, submitted to consideration in the 
eye of the sun and in the face of light." 

"THE TRUTH AGAINST THE WORLD." 

The three worthies first mentioned, Plenydd, Alawn 
and Gwron, must have lived in the days of Auld Lang 
Syne ; for they have been present in all the sittings 
of the Welsh bards from time immemorial, or at least 
it is so stated, but are unseen to mortal eye, and it is 
supposed they denote certain virtues. But the above 
is a correct copy of bardic invitations, and the order 
itself is the remains of the ancient druidical institution, 
but now composed only of bards and minstrels, for the 
third and most numerous branch, the druids, have be- 
come extinct on the death of the ancient i'eligion. 

At the above sitting a splendid oration was delivered 
by Rev. D. James, A. M., and F. S. A., Incumbent 
of Kirkdale, Liverpool, in which he said that when all 
the rest of the world was overshadowed by the gloom 
of Popery, the truth of the gospel shone brightly 
among the mountains and in the valleys of Wales, that 
the Welsh had fought the battles of liberty and of 
truth, and that any attempt by the English to abolish 
the language and destroy the identity of such a people 
was the greatest violation of propriety and justice. 

Roman priests may lead their ignorant hearers by 
the nose ; but Avhen a learned Welshman makes a 
speech before the literati of his native land, he cannot 
lead them astray on historical facts, for they are too 
well and generally known ; although from the circum- 
stance of the ancient laws having been superseded by 
those of England three hundred and eight years ago, 
the importance of some of their liberal institutions are 
not, in all cases, properly appreciated, for they have 



LETTEKS ON WELSH HISTORY. 115 

never seen them in operation. A man that has seen 
similar institutions in active and successful operation 
in the United States, can form a better estimate of 
their value ; and I am free to admit that the science 
of government has been brought to a higher degree of 
perfection in this country than it ever was in Wales, 
although in relation to individual right to property the 
institutions of Wales were superior, as they secured to 
all citizens the use of live acres of land free, and five 
more for any excellence in any of the arts and sci- 
ences. 

The trial by jury was in full operation in South 
Wales from the earliest period of authentic history ; 
and the laws of evidence were as well understood by 
them as they are now among the Anglo-Saxon race. 

Besides the five acre privilege, the Welsh laws pro- 
vided that all personal property, such as cattle and 
grain, the implements of trade, clothing, books, musical 
instruments, and military equipments, could not be 
taken on any claim, " because it was unjust in the law 
to unman the man, or to uncall the calling." 

I think I have a greater claim upon the friendship 
of the American people than Walter Scott, because I 
have made known to them these splendid principles 
and laws, whereas Scott had very little to say, except 
about bloody murders and fights among barbarians. 
Bulls can fight and bears can dance, but it takes men 
of sense and education to enact good laws and social 
institutions. 

And besides that, I have for twenty-nine years en- 
gaged in political agitations, for the purpose of abolish- 
ing cruel and unjust laws, under the operation of which 
the dough-trough and the infant's cradle were often 
sold for rent. Such are, or have been, the barbarous 
laws of the boasted Anglo-Saxon race. 

I want you, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly 
calling, to unite and bring about that glorious time, 
when one man shall not build and another inhabit, and 
one man shall not plant and another eat; for this is 



116 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

promised in " the word of truth." Many of you are 
faithful, and contribute liberally to spread the truth, 
and you do well. But it should be borne in mind that 
man has a physical as well as a moral nature, and if 
one suffers, the other sympathizes in the pain ; and 
you can provide for physical wants at a cheap rate 
through the ballot box, for there is plenty of land. 
And if you don't wake up. Congress Avill Avaste the 
whole of it in a few years, except the barren and re- 
mote. I allude to no particular party. They are all 
alike ; for they spend their time in jangling about any- 
thing, except the most important of all other things, 
viz., to make the most beneficial arrangement possible 
in the disposition of the national domain, under such 
arrangements as will conduce to the greatest benefit 
of the whole body of citizens, especially the lack- 
landers. 



LETTER XVII. 



With respect to what is said by English writers 
about the conquest of Wales, by Edward the First, I 
have already stated that Edward had no war with any 
of the Welsh princes, but Lleywellin, Prince of the 
Northern principality, which did not comprise more, 
at the outside, than one-fourth of Wales — all the 
others came in by treaty — and the king was compelled 
either to battle with their united force or grant them 
their conditions, which was complete independence of 
English legislation, and which placed Wales exactly in 
the same position as Hungary under the emperor, till the 
innovation a few years ago. Edward the First called a 
Parliament at Rhuddlan, in Flintshire, Avhicli confirmed 
the whole. A part of the building yet stands in which 
the* Parliament held its sitting. But it is evident that 
the whole was only a scheme of the king, and, pro- 
bably of the Parliament, for as soon as all was settled 
the king built three or four great castles, and cut 
roads, which occupied nine or ten years. He held the 
Archbishopric of York vacant, and applied its re- 
venues to this object to aid his means. Accordingly, 
in the year 1292 or 1293, the king laid a tax on 
Wales, regardless of all treaties, supposing that with 
the advantage of garrisoned castles and open roads he 
could be able to subdue them, but failed. This ac- 
count I have given in a former letter. There is a 
monument placed on the ground in Rhuddlan, Avith 
this inscription : 

(117) 



118 LETTERS ON AVELSII HISTORY. 

This fragment 

is the remains of the building 

■where King Edward the First 

held his Parliament, 

A. D., 1283, 

in which passed the statute of Rhuddlan, 

securing 

to the principality of Wales 

its judicial rights 

and independence. 

I have already given the authority of Lord Chatham 
for the fact that Wales never paid tax till the union in 
1544, when they sent representatives to Parliament, 
after Avhich they paid tax as willingly as any other 
people. King Henry the Eighth disowned the Pope's 
supremacy in 1534. In 1535 the Welsh petitioned 
the king to unite Wales to England as an integral 
portion of the kingdom. A law was immediately 
passed in Parliament for settling the preliminaries, but 
there were so many interests pending that it occupied 
nine years to effect it, which occurred in 1544. Up to 
that time the Welsh had opposed every attempt of the 
kind ; although they were greatly annoyed by the lords 
of the marches, who had patents which exempted them 
from all jurisdiction of the Welsh laws, so that the 
country was in a measure lawless. But the fact that 
they sought the union immediately upon the suppres- 
sion of the Pope's authority, points out the great ob- 
jection, which was popery, as a legal power. 

From these circumstances, I am well satisfied that the 
main objections of the Welsh to the union with Eng- 
land, was the fact of popery being there established 
by law, and having the power to drag innocent men 
and women to the stake for their faith in a pure 
gospel. The confiscation of the Abbey lands enabled 
the king, by purchase and exchanges, to relieve the 
Welsh of the annoyance from the lords of the marches. 
His father had bought out the claims of numbers, but 
Harry had greater advantages; and as there were 



I 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 119 

many monasteries in Wales he gave their lands to his 
Welsh friends, as he did those of the English monas- 
teries to his English friends. 

Besides all this, a chieftain of the name of Llewellin 
died just at the time of the union. The eldest son 
claimed the whole estate under English law ; but the 
younger brother put in his claim under Welsh law, and 
gained his share, because the act of the union had not 
been quite consummated at the time of the father's 
death — a decisive proof that Wales was never under 
the laws of England till the union, for the Welsh 
laws placed the children on equal terms. 

Nevertheless large estates were held in Wales, be- 
cause for many centuries the population did not in- 
crease, but rather diminished. The estates were often 
divided, but by marriage, and the deaths of many per- 
sons without heirs of their own estates, were generally 
as large as if there had been laws of primogeniture, 
or nearly so. It is, however, probable that the " land 
in expectancy," which was set apart for homesteads, 
had been given to the Welsh chiefs and lords of the 
marches, for that portion of the Welsh lands was not 
strictly private property — the citizens had only a life 
right to it. Sir James Mackintosh gives the true ver- 
sion, for he says that the Welsh were at last betrayed 
by their princes. Had they only sense enough to 
have established a republic, and chosen officers for 
stated periods, the English could never have brought 
them under, for they were superior in arms to the 
English, Scotch, or Irish, having defeated the Eng- 
lish in their last conflict with tremendous odds ; but 
a few years after, the English destroyed the flower of 
Scotland, at Floddenfield, Avithout the advantage of 
superior numbers which they had at Bosworth. Not- 
withstanding which, the Welsh defeated them with 
dreadful slaughter, with only a twentieth part of the 
loss of men. A little more modesty would become 
English historians when they tell tales about driving 
the Welsh, for they have never yet given a single in- 



120 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

stance in which they defeated the Welsh with an infe- 
rior force, but there have been many well authenti- 
cated instances the other way. 

Sir James Mackintosh says that the kings of En- 
gland bribed the smaller chiefs with offices and digni- 
ties, and with their aid overpowered the strong chiefs 
with numbers. The fact is, that the more powerful 
chiefs would have subdued the others, but they prefer- 
red to become vassals to the English kings. Still they 
would not submit to the English laAvs. Had the king 
persisted in that, they would have united, and brought 
out fifty thousand men. The submission to the crown 
of England, as an independent principality, was only 
an expedient or compromise, between the parties, and 
had the kings and nobility of England either faith or 
truth in their composition, it would have been a bles- 
sing to the Welsh as well as the English. But the 
purposes of God were accomplished, for the intercourse 
that was opened between the two people soon inocu- 
lated the English with Lollardism, and the united forces 
both came down upon France, which had imbued her 
hands in the blood of the Albigenses. And this might 
have been the cause of the preservation of the Walden- 
ses, by making business for their enemies. It pro- 
duced intermarriages between persons of the two na- 
tions, and this produced the Tudors, who expelled the 
Plantagenets, and the papacy, and Cromwell, who 
brought the head of the tyrant, Charles Stuart, to the 
block, and Milton, and many other master spirits. It 
led to the emigration of the Welsh to the British co- 
lonies in America, to disseminate the principles of 
religious liberty. They were mainly instrumental in 
planting the Baptist principles in the new world, the 
importance of which no one can calculate, for it is just 
beginning to be felt. AVhen a Welshman propagates 
great and important principles, it is taken for granted 
that they forge the whole out of their own brains, for 
this is the case in relation to Roger Williams, and yet 
Williams only acted in conformity with the principles 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 121 

of his race. Any other "Welshman -wlio was a true 
Christian, and possessed his abilities, would have pur- 
sued the same course ; and not only natives of Wales, 
but their descendants, still retain by tradition and 
education from their parents, the same liberal views. 
Does any one suppose that Thomas Jefferson did not 
profit by the intelligence of his parents, who were of 
Welsh descent ? Why should the youngest member of 
the committee of five appointed to draw up the Decla- 
ration of Independence, know more about inalienable 
rights than all the rest ? Rights before the laws, and 
of which no law can justly deprive a man, was a fun- 
damental principle of law in Wales. 

Had the Declaration of Independence never been 
written, nor the British colonies become independent 
states, my children, who were all born in Pennsylvania, 
would have known all about inalienable rights. Nor 
do I believe that the knowledge of such facts would 
have ended with them, but would have been transmit- 
ted to their children, for it is manifest that the Welsh 
had more to do with the revolution in proportion to 
their numbers, than any other class, as one-fourth of 
the immortal signers were either of Welsh descent or 
born in Wales, while Wales only contained about one 
in thirty of the population of the British islands, to say 
nothing of the vast numbers of Germans and others 
from the continent of Europe, who had emigrated to 
these shores before the revolution. But the planting 
of Baptist principles in the new world was the crowning 
act of the Welsh, for it is sure to remould the whole 
face of society, taken in connection with the fact that 
prophecy has clearly indicated that the church was to 
be preserved in a place in the wilderness, and that in 
Wales alone the followers of our Redeemer had ever 
liberty to exist. The very circumstance of their having 
disseminated these principles in the new world clearly 
indicates what sort of principles the church in the wil- 
derness maintained. Circumstantial evidence is some- 
times as strong as that which is positive. The propa- 
11 



122 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

gation of the doctrine of inalienable rights, of the 
freedom of worship, and many other great principles 
belongs exclusively to the Welsh, for they Avere clearly 
taught in all ages in Wales, and the Welsh have been 
their most skilful propagators and defenders in other 
lands. Had the Germans or French possessed such 
principles as the Welsh, they would have put an end 
to popery many ages ago, for small as was the popula- 
tion of Wales, Avith the whole of mankind in opposition, 
they have retained their liberal tendencies. Whether 
I shall obtain a niche in the temple of fame or not, 
will be best known in future times, but certainly I have 
tried my utmost strength in maintaining the principles 
of truth and righteousness. I have made interminable 
war against oppression in every shape, as far as expe- 
diency and my sense of duty prescribed. If I have 
left one social evil untouched, it is not because I have 
any respect for it. I do not wish to be misunderstood 
on that head. I leave that to those who have the legal 
right in the case, the people of the slave-holding States; 
the responsibility rests on their shoulders. If they do 
well it will end well, but if the slavery of the coloured 
race is a sin, the sin will lay at their door. They 
have Moses, and the Prophets, and the Lord Jesus 
Christ, and the Apostles, let them hear them. I will 
not engage in the crusade and abuse against them. I 
know the difficulties in their way, and always loved 
to combat with difficulties, but had I been given my 
choice, I had chosen to combat with social evils, rather 
than to enjoy all the blessings that will fall to the lot 
of the happy inhabitants of this land, when all social 
evils are removed. 



LETTER XYIII. 



Having now brought my series of letters on Welsh 
history to a close, I will give the readers some further 
account of the motives that led to their being published. 

In my early days I was the weakest of all my 
father's children, having never enjoyed much health 
till I was near thirteen years of age. It was the voyage 
across the Atlantic and the change of climate that 
gave me the first indication of an extended life, although 
I had all ray life been subject to organic diseases, re- 
quiring great care, considerable medicine, and tAvo 
surgical operations in the Jeiferson college in this city. 

It was when I was seven years old that I became 
exceedingly dissatisfied with my native land. The causes 
that seemed to lead to this feeling were various, one 
of the first was, that a constable died lamenting that 
he had ever gone to a cottage to levy for a small debt ; 
the poor woman had the pot on the fire, making soup 
for her children, but instead of waiting till they had 
eaten, he poured it out into a hole near the door, where 
the poor children hastened with their spoons to get 
Avhat they could out of it. His conscience was aAvak- 
ened in the last hours of life, when it was too late to 
make amends. This story and others of the like 
nature have haunted my mind all my da3^s. Having 
heard that land was cheap in America I begged my 
father frequently, from the year 179G till we left in 
1801, that he would go to America. Another cause 
was the continued war between England and France, 
into which I feared that my brothers and myself would 
be drawn, without any benefit to ourselves, merely to 
satisfy the ambition of wicked men ; but thanks be to 
the Father of all mercies, we arrived safe in this city 

(123) 



124 LETTEKS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

on the 19th of July, 1801, having been a week or 
eight days at quarantine, at the Lazaretto. Soon after 
■we came in I found that there -were many things objec- 
tionable here, and often formed in my mind the most 
extensive plans of operation, having in vieAV nothing 
less than to change the whole system of social order, 
so far as to secure to every human being a place on 
the earth, where he might rest his weary limbs without 
paying to a landlord the money earned by hard labour, 
that ought to be laid out in food and clothing for his 
family. My first cftbrt was to unite the energies of 
the whole family to place ourselves above the reach of 
urgent want, in these eflbrts my health was prostrated 
several times. I had obtained sufficient knowledge of 
two mechanical trades, by the age of eighteen, to work 
as a journeyman. During the sad prostration of 
health, under which I suffered, my mind roamed, and 
formed plans of the most extensive kind, and waking 
as from a dream, I would think what opinion my friends 
would form of me if they could know my thoughts ; 
they would consider me only fit for a place in bedlam. 
It was in the fall of 1823 I found the first company 
that wished to make some improvement in the state of 
society ; some of them are still living. They had been 
led into that way by the reading of a pamphlet on com- 
monwealths, and learning that an attempt had been 
made in New York to found a community of goods, to 
be located in Virginia. Accordingly we formed a 
"Society for promoting Christian Commonwealths,'' 
of which I was soon after appointed secretary. This 
movement was occasioned by the Avild philosophy of 
Robert Owen, of Ncav Lanark, in Scotland, a native 
of Montgomeryshire, in Wales, a county adjoining Car- 
diganshire, Avhere I was born. I had not the least 
faith in Mr. Owen's theory, as it was founded on the 
denial of the doctrine of human depravity, the very 
denial of which is deep depravity in itself, because it 
opposes experience, and gives the lie to the declaration 
of God, who has said that all the thoughts of man are 



LETTERS ON AVELSH HISTORY. 125 

evil, only evil continually. I stated distinctly in the 
outset that Owen's principles were founded in error, 
that his doctrines of circumstances were carried far 
beyond the point of truth. Nevertheless, as circum- 
stances have a mighty influence for' good or evil, I was 
■willing to try them to the utmost. At the same time 
my object was to secure to every family a homestead 
of twenty acres of land, and secure it from all process 
of law, for I considered that in justice, a state was 
bound to protect women and children, however un- 
worthy the father might be, and that in forming the 
social state such measures ought to have been adopted 
as to prevent any of the citizens from being left house- 
less and homeless. For whatever may be said of in- 
alienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuits of 
happiness, it is manifest that if a man has no portion 
of earth on which he may stand and raise the means 
of living, whatever be the theory of politicians, he has 
no right to live on this earth ; he only lives on suffer- 
ance. 

I will not now enter into a detail of the various 
means which were adopted by the reformers, for the 
failure of one plan induced the adoption of another. 
But during the whole I did all I could to forward these 
plans. Many of my fellow-citizens know me, and re- 
member how I stood alone before Independence Hall, 
with a banner, which Avas seen over the whole ground, 
to canvass for votes, and be the object of ridicule to 
fools, who, because they could put in a few bits of 
paper, once a year, to decide who should enjoy the 
honour and emoluments of office, supposed that the 
true ends of government had been attained. In thus 
speaking I do not reiiect on the founders of the He- 
public ; they acted a worthy part, they established n 
government where tJie citizens had the power to make 
any improvements they chose, and that was what 
humanity had never gained before, at least not in so 
eminent a degree, and on such a splendid stage. To 
bring about these improvements I made every sacrifice 
11* 



126 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

of feeling and means, and by our united labour tbe 
people of this country have enacted homestead laws in 
many of the states, and a large majority of the House 
of Representatives in Congress have passed a law 
giving every family a homestead of one hundred and 
sixty acres. 

These are great objects gained in the course of thirty 
years of agitation, and prove that the xVmerican people 
have advanced much in intelligence. But the measure 
having failed in the Senate, attempts are made now to 
sacrifice the national domain by bestowing immense 
quantities of it on the several States, and some editors 
who suppose themselves exceedingly wise, think this to 
be the best disposition that could be made of it. But 
should this measure be adopted, we may be assured that 
much of it will be sacrificed to the system of log-rolling, 
and fall into the hands of speculators, as the millions 
of acres given to the soldiers have already done. The 
government of the human race has been so sadly mis- 
managed, that men in general have not opened their 
eyes to the dut}'- of government. 

Philosophers, in nearly all lands, have admitted that 
all men have by nature equal rights to the earth, and 
the position is undeniable. By what mystery of ini- 
quity then, have the great mass of mankind been de- 
pi-ived of their natural rights, and the poverty and op- 
pression of the multitude laid at the door of God's 
Providence? Is it beyond the power of the human 
mind to adopt some plan by which men may be put in 
possession of their natural rights, in that portion of the 
public domain not yet disposed of. The Congress of 
the United States have now at their disposal two- 
thirds of the fairest portion of the North American 
continent. They hold in their hands the fortunes of 
millions upon millions yet unknown. I hope they will 
not act the part of oiu* first parents, who sold them- 
selves and their posterity to the Devil for an apple. 
Little loss culpable will be their conduct if they sutfer 
this extensive public domain to fall into the hands of 



LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 127 

speculators. They have before them the experience 
of near six thousand years of human misery, and they 
have it in their power to turn the tide, and it is evident 
that many of them wish to do it. God grant that some 
preventive may be applied to the present movement 
of squandering the public land on States and Railroad 
Companies. 

It is in a great measure for the purpose of making 
the American people acquainted with the fact, that 
man's natural right was once regarded in the social 
state that the "Letters on Welsh History" were 
written. It is not pretended that the Welsh people or 
government were perfect, nor is it in order to magnify 
our national character, although I value the opinion 
of the Amei'icans more than that of any other people. 

But this is a small matter compared to the desire of 
seeing the North American continent the permanent 
home of the free and the happy. 

This cause has been injured by the infidel tendency 
of many of its advocates. The great body of Chris- 
tians have in consequence stood aloof, and many won- 
dered how I could associate with them. The fact is, that 
when I have any object in view, which I consider it my 
duty to attain, I will pursue it, and if need be, harness 
old Satan and Beelzebub. Could I overturn the power 
of the Devil by setting the devils at loggerheads, I would 
be glad to do it. I know that many who engaged in 
these agitations had the most deadly enmity against 
the gospel, and they were not without hopes of doing 
it a fatal injury. Such undoubtedly was the view of 
Robert Owen. But there is a promise in the "word of 
Truth" that the time would come when one man would 
not plant and another eat, nor one man build and ano- 
ther inhabit. And as this could not take place till 
man was put in possession of his natural rights to the 
earth, and knowing that the words were spoken by a 
Being who cannot lie, and who cannot be frustrated in 
his designs by man or devil, I have gone on with full 
confidence in the justice of my course, and not without 



128 LETTERS ON WELSH HISTORY. 

a, strong hope of seeing it prevail iu this countrj, should 
I attain near my father's age at the time of his decease ; 
but whether or no, if the cause is just, God is not at a 
loss for instruments. All that a man is required to 
do, is to poiibrm Ills duty, and leave the consequences 
to Gorl, he can take care of consequences. Fault has 
been found Avith citizens of foreign birth for meddling 
so much with politics. There is one important interest 
settled by the Constitution, and having been settled, I 
have never agitated it. I allude to slavery in the 
South. But in relation to the rights of the white popu- 
lation, the subject is left open, and it is the duty of 
every citizen to do all iu his power to advance the in- 
terests of them all, at all times avoiding any attempt 
to invade vested rights, for no man in the land is more 
anxious than I am to pay every man his due, whether 
it be house rent or any thing else. I am myself dis- 
gusted with the movements of many foreigners. Some 
of them attempt to disseminate popery, others infidelity. 
They have a right to do it under our laws, and I do 
not wish to hinder them. But others have rights too, 
and riglits in far better accordance with the spirit and 
design of American institutions. The ancient Welsh 
laws and constitutions awarded all the citizens five 
acres of land free, on the principal of natural right, 
and five more in virtue of any excellence in the arts 
and sciences, besides the exemption of all personal pro- 
perty. To agitate for the introduction of such provi- 
sions in the United States, is in perfect accordance 
with institutions already established, and provides the 
most efiectual means for their perpetuity to the end 
of time. 



TESTIMONIALS, 



Rock Springs, (Shilo P. 0.) Illinois, 1 
April 24, 1852. / 

Samuel Jenkins, Esq. — Dear Sir — I am much 
gratified to learn from the "Christian Chronicle," you 
are about publishing your " Letters on Welsh His- 
tory," with extracts from their " Triads." In my 
historical researches, I have found enough to con- 
vince me there is much for historians to learn from the 
records of that singular and unique people. Though 
there maybe much of fable and "tradition" in the 
fragments handed down from remote times, as is the 
case in all ancient nations, I am satisfied from a care- 
ful exploration of such facts and legends as I can find 
in English, and conversation and correspondence Avith 
Welsh scholars, who have had a-ceess to those writings 
that remain untranslated in their na.tiv>e tongue, the 
true character of that people, and especially the Druids 
at the period of the introduction of Christianity among 
the ancient Cumry, is but very imperfectly known. 

Nor do those Avho have not specially examined the 
subject know the amount of influence WaJes has had in 
forming the elements of -our national character. Few 
are aAvare of the admixture of Welsh blood in our 
population; nor the number of family names, that with 
some variations of spelling and pronunciation, are 
found in our country. In an article published in the 
Christian Keview for Jasauary, 1851, 1 touched on this 
sul>j<M3t, and gav« a partial list, but it admits of great 
enlargement. 

In a lecture on the ^'JSlements of Westerm, Character" 
delivered to the Alumni, of Georgetown College, Ky., 
then under the presidency of Rev. Dr. Malcolm, and 

/129) 



130 TESTIMONIALS. 

of McKendree College, Illinois, then under the presi- 
dency of Rev. Dr. Wcntworth, (both now citizens of 
Pennsylvania,) and on several other occasions by spe- 
cial request, I have given a more full exhibition of this 
subject. From this lecture I send you an extract, con- 
taining my views of this subject, after careful research, 
which I will call — Sketches of the Welsh. 

For some of the prominent elements of our national 
character, and those which in a peculiar sense dis- 
tinguish us from all other people, wc are indebted to 
Wales, and the descendants of the ancient Britons. 
There are a much larger number of families in the 
United States, and especially in this great central val- 
ley, who are of Welsh ancestry by lineal descent and 
intermarriage, than people suppose. 

The elements of Welsh character consist in a strong 
and vigorous intellect, indomitable energy, great cou- 
rage, high moral sentiments, intense feeling, great 
vivacity, untiring zeal, and active benevolence. With 
the original W^elsh character, is commingled the in- 
dustry, enterprise, and piety of the Puritan, and the 
frankness and magnanimity of the cavalier. The 
Welsh are impulsive, yet prudent and cautious ; firm, 
yet courteous. Their strong attachment to civil liberty 
is excelled only by their stern devotion to religious 
freedom and the rights of conscience. For seven hun- 
dred years they resisted the aggressions of the Anglo- 
Saxons and the Normans ; defended with patriotic 
heroism their mountain ftistnesses ; and it was not until 
the thirteenth century they submitted to the crown of 
England, under Edward I., whose son, having been 
born in Caernarvon, was made Prince of Wales. Soon 
after that period, immigrants from Wales began to set- 
tle in England, and their influence was gradually but 
effectually felt on the morals of the phlegmatic Saxons, 
and over the chivalrous and impetuous Normans. 

The Welsh have always drawn the correct line of 
demarcation between politics and Christianity; be- 
tween the government of Cscsar and the prei'ogatives 



TESTIMONIALS. 131 

of Jesus Christ. The separation of the true Chris- 
tian churches from every form of human government 
■was a radical and fundamental principle in all the 
ancient communities of Cliristians, Avhich I recognize 
as churches of Jesus Christ in the early part of the 
Christian era, and througli every period. But where 
do Ave find the sublime idea of the separation of poli- 
tics and religion — of perfect mental freedom with due 
subjection to the " powers that be," as a human idea. 
That it was of divine origin is taught by Christ in John 
vi. 36, and Matt. xxii. 21. But where do we find its 
practical existence in any political institution ? As a 
political and national idea, it was carried out in practice 
only amongst tlie Welsh Druids. There was the 
fountain of druidism — the original source from which 
in a perverted form, and blended with cruel rites, it 
prevailed among tlie Germans and Gauls. Cassarand 
Tacitus are the only sources from which English and 
German historians have obtained all tlieir knowledge 
of druidism, and the history and principles of this 
singular order. Their knowledge of the druids of 
Britain was obtained second-handed, and chiefly from 
Continental Europe. Welsh annals, known only to 
Welsh antiquarian scholars, are said to exist, and 
which cast new light on druidical character, customs 
and usages. Their true system and central govern- 
ment were amongst the ancient Britons, but historians 
in a strange country, wholly ignorant of the language, 
and having partial knowledge of the peculiar habits 
of a singular people, always misrepresent, and often 
exaggerate. Such, if I am not mistaken, are the 
" annals" of Tacitus, and the " commentaries" of 
Caesar on British druidism. 

Let us now look through Welsh glasses along the 
vista of the past. We discern in an obscure Island, 
on the western verge of the European horizon, a con- 
clave of venerable men, assembled in a grove of oaks. 
The sacred mistletoe hangs in dark, green clusters along 
the branches, and, as they fancy, sheds down on them 



132 TESTIMONIALS. 

the influences of wisdom, virtue, and piety. They are 
a body of p^-iests, for they oifer all the public and 
private sacrifices of the people. They are the teachers^ 
for they instruct the people in the duties of religion, 
piety, and morality, and the youth in knowledge and 
virtue. They arc the scholars and philosophers of a 
rude and barbarous people, for they penetrate the 
mysteries of nature, and develop her properties. They 
are poets, for they chant their lectures in verse, and 
weave immortal triads. They are physicians, for 
they study the anatomy and physiology of the human 
frame, and heal the sick. They are scribes and his- 
torians, for they are perpetuating their discoveries by 
marks and symbols on monuments. They are " Free- 
masons," and " Oddfellows," for they have secret con- 
claves, and know each other by mystic signs ; and 
have forms of initiation which none but the brother- 
hood can understand. They are statesmen, for they 
make the laws and govern the people in all respects, 
except in war. They are architects, for they are plan- 
ning and erecting temples from massive rock. They 
are astronomers, for they gaze on the heavenly bodies, 
and by some process, to us unknoAvn, calculate their 
motions and laws. They are astrologers and sooth- 
sayers, for they fancy the stars on which they gaze 
have a mysterious influence over the birth and destiny 
of mortals, and calculate their fortunes accordingly. 
In government they are repiuhlieans, for their chief is 
elected by a majority of votes. They are not Chris- 
tians, for the Messiah has not yet come, nor has the 
gospel been made known to the posterity of Japheth. 
No portion of the ancient revelation of God to the 
Jews has reached their Island. They are groping 
their way onward and upward by the dim lights of 
reason and experience. 

Yet one ray of celestial light has fallen on their 
pathAvay ; — one ethcrial spark has electrified tlieir 
minds. They have engraven it on their monuments 
and tombs ; — adopted it in the mystic rites of their 



TESTIMONIALS. 133 

worship, and cliaunted it in verse to tlieir listening dis- 
ciples. It enters into the fabric of their government, 
and lays at the foundation of all their claims on the 
consciences of their votaries. When translated into 
our modern English, it reads 

"Truth Against the World." 

Its meaning is obvious. The human mind should 
have no coercion in the investigation of truth. No 
restraint should be laid on the adoption and propaga- 
tion of opinions. 

Though this fact of ancient Druidical history, pro- 
bably was unknown to the distinguished statesman who 
wrote, " error may be saftly tolerated, where truth is 
left free to combat it," the idea is the same under 
another dress. '•''Freedom in religion — -freedom in 
speech — and freedom of the press," are now the "pass- 
words" of all friends of human liberty. 

When the gospel was first propagated in Wales, and 
converts from the Druidical system to Christianity 
made, there was no persecutions from the priesthood or 
the government ; a single exception in the early history 
of Christianity. How can we account for this unless 
there was some such great practical principle in Dru- 
idism? And the Welsh have been in every age the 
unflinching advocates of religious liberty. All our 
ideas and principles on this subject, deep-seated as 
they are in the hearts of the American people, are of 
Welsh origin, for this element in Puritanism came 
from Wales into England. The Lollards brought into 
England the principles of the entire separation of 
church and state, religion and politics ; but the broad 
and general principles of entire mental freedom came 
from Wales. The everlasting twaddle about Anglo- 
iSaxon influence and power in England has obscured 
many great facts of Engli.sh history, and the continuous 
migrations from Wales to England, the great number 
of family names among her great men, and some of 
12 



134 TESTIMONIALS. 

the strong lineaments of English character, came from 
that quarter before the settlement of the American 
colonies. 

And Wales, bj its colonists, direct to America, and 
especially of Baptists, dift'used these ancient principles 
in the old settlements of Ne\Y Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
and Delaware. And this class of people spread them 
through Virginia, and the Carolinas from seventy-five 
to one hundred and fifty years gone by. It was occa- 
sional attendance on the meeting days of a small Bap- 
tist Church in Virginia, while a student of law under 
the late Chancellor Wythe, and observing their simple 
and congregational mode of settlement, when all the 
members exercised the right of suffrage, that the late 
Thomas Jefferson caught the vast idea of a national, or 
state government, managed by the democracy. I give 
the late Charles Thompson, Esq., the intimate friend 
of Mr. Jefferson, and well known in the region of Phi- 
ladelphia forty and fifty years since, as voucher for 
this statement. But enough said. 

Yours respectfully, 

J. M. Peck. 



Messrs. Editohs : Some time ago I forwarded 
you another article on the "• Baptists in Wales," in 
•which, as in the first, I largely quoted dates, &:c., from 
"Books recently published in Wales," but I fear that 
similar to many other letters that I have forwarded to 
America, it never reached its destination. The Chroni- 
cle, week after week, has arrived regularly, but in vain 
have I searched its interesting columns for my corres- 
pondence ! I now feel sorry that pressing engage- 
ments at that time would not permit me to keep a copy 
of my letter, otherwise I Avould again send it you, be- 
cause I cannot in any way account for its non-inser- 



TESTIMONIALS. 135 

tion, but by thinking that it has miscarried. I stated 
in that letter that it was my intention of giving to 
your readers a compendium of the generally received 
and published history of the " Baptists in Wales," in 
a series of twelve or fifteen letters, and then to com- 
pare the narration of one historinn with the other, 
expose the discrepancies, and endeavour to arrive at 
something like correct data and faithful pictures. In 
this I have been anticipated by my talented brother 
Jenkins, whose extensive knowledge of the matter, 
whose sound judgment, and whose discriminating 
genius, enables him to surpass every other writer that 
I have seen and read on this interesting and important 
question, — and I think I liave read all. I have shown 
his letters to many learned friends, they are highly 
delighted with them, and with myself, would be glad 
if brother Jenkins published his valuable remarks in 
an elegant volume. This is a "great desideratum, for 
it would be an accession to our meagre ecclesiastical 
history. Trusting that this will come to hand safe, 
that you will have the kindness to let it appear, and 
let me know in a foot note Avhether my other corres- 
pondence reached your office or not, 

Sincerely yours, 

JNO. EMLYN JONES. 
Cardiff, Wales, Dec. 4, 1851. 

P. S. — The letter alluded to never reached our 
office. — Eds. 



In addition to the testimony of Mr. John Emlyn 
Jones, which appeared in the last number of the 
Chronicle, touching the correctness of the articles on 
Welsh history, that have appeared in the Christian 
Chronicle, the following is from Rev. David Davis, an 
Independent minister and poet in the west of South 
Wales:— 



136 TESTIMONIALS. 

" I have lately sent you two newspapers, one in 
Welsh, and the other (the Caernarvon Herald) in 
English. In the last I have marked a part of the ora- 
tion of Rev. David James, A. M., F. S. A., Incumbent 
of Kirkdale, Liverpool, and author of the Patriarchal 
Religion of Britain, or a Manual of Ancient Druidism, 
at the sitting of Tremadog, in which he said that ' true 
religion continued in Wales while all the rest of the 
world was overshadowed by the darkness of Popery.' 
I thought you would be pleased to learn that so dis- 
tinguished an antiquarian was exactly of the same 
views as yourself on that point. Your views are 
strengthened by the fact that the English Lollards 
Avere in the habit of flying to Wales for safety. Sound 
divinity is found in the work of a number of the Bards 
of that period, and the boldest attacks on the Pope 
and the Popish priests and monks. 

" The Welsh nation ought to feel thankful to you 
for bringing our stirring history and national peculia- 
rities to the notice of the American people. The laws 
and social regulations of our nation, together with their 
religious tendencies and their love of liberty, is almost 
unknown to the rest of the world, because we have 
been shut up in a mountainous country ; but I am glad 
that you have raised a corner of the veil to make 
known to the people of the new continent our history 
and renown. 

" I should be glad to learn that you had published 
your excellent letters in a book, and that it had obtained 
a rapid and extensive circulation, as it deserves. Mr. 
John Emlyn Jones, a young and talented man from 
New Castle Emlyn, has promised to send a testimonial 
to the correctness of your views, either to you or the 
editors of the Chronicle, in which he will urge you to 
publish your letters in a book. I have informed him 
who you are, and who are your relatives. Perhaps his 
communication may be of more service than any thing 
I can send from these parts. 

" I have shown your letters in the Chronicle to Mr. 



TESTIMONIALS. 137 

Benjamin Williams, of Whitegrove, in the vale of 
Troedyraur. He is the best historian in these parts. 
In a letter to me he says : ' I have, read Mr. Jenkins' 
letters with much care, and have been peculiarly 
pleased with them. It appears he is a very correct 
historian, and that he has weighed everything he has 
read in the balance of reason. I should be glad to 
learn that he had published his letters in a book, and 
I should think that there is a sufficient number of 
Welsh in America to pay the expense, if no others 
would purchase the books.' " 

12 * 



TRIADS 



OF THE SOCIAL STATE 



ANCIENT BEITONS.* 



REMARKS. 

These triads, or rather the system of teaching by 
means of triads, is ascribed to Dyvnwal Moelmud, a 

* The ti'iads here translated, are taken from the Archai- 
ology of Wales, vol. iii. p. 285, where they form a part of many 
of a similar natui-e, published in the same work, under the 
general denomination of " Triads of Wisdom of the Bards of 
the Isle of Britain." Strictly speaking, therefore, these are 
not the " Lavr Triads of the Ancient Britons," •which occur in 
a subsequent part of the same volume of the Archaiology. 
However, it has been thought advisable to retain the title 
adopted by Mr. Koberts. Dyvnwal Moelmud, to whom these 
triads are ascribed, (though the justice of this imputation may 
reasonably be questioned,) is thought to have lived about four 
centuries before the Christian era. According to the Historical 
Triads, he was the son of Dyvnwarth ab Prydain, and, accord- 
ing to the British Chronicles, the son of Clj-dno, a prince of 
the Cornish Britons. For translations of the triads relating to 
him, see the Cambro-Britox, vol. i. pp. 45, 284 ; and vol. ii. pp. 
145, 146. It may be proper here to add that this translation, 
from the pen of a distinguished Welsh scholar, was presented 
to the CvMMRODORiox by the Right Hon. C. W. W. Wynn, to 
whose active interest the Society has been considerable in- 
debted. The translation is printed literally from the MS. of 
the late Mr. Roberts ; and such observations as may be deemed 
necessary to explain the text will be found in the following 
notes. — Ed. Tr. 

(138) 



TRIADS OP THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 139 

British prince or king who lived about three centu- 
ries before the Christian era, and there is no doubt 
that some of these triads were composed bj himself, 
but added to during many successive ages. This is a 
case similar to the Psalms. They are called the Psalms 
of David, although but a little 'over one-third appear 
to have been composed by him, for one of them is 
placed to the credit of Moses, and another composed 
after the return from Babylon, covering a period of 
nearly a thousand years. These triads undoubtedly 
describe the social state of the Cumry or Welsh for 
at least fifteen centuries, and to a considerable extent 
for the period that intervened between the submission 
of the Welsh to Edward the first till the union with 
England in 1544— a period of two hundred and 
sixty years, altogether about eighteen hundred years. 
Within that period there were considerable improve- 
ments or innovations upon the original institutions, for 
there were two revisions ; the first occurred under Bran 
Vendigaid (Brennus the blessed), the father of Carac- 
tacus, mentioned in Roman history; the second re- 
vision was made in the reign of Howell, prince of 
South Wales, who died in the year 948. The reader 
will observe the vast respect paid to "worthy" mar- 
riage among the Welsh, and how tender were their 
laws upon the ignorant and the stranger, crimes that 
would have insured capital conviction in a native who 
was a citizen. If the perpetrator was a stranger, and 
Ignorant of the language, there was a bar to capital 
punishment. 

It may also be observed, that the great point aimed 
at in Welsh legislation was the benefit of the indi- 
vidual man. He had natural rights of which the law 
could not deprive him. This, in all cases of citizenship, 
amounted to five acres of land, together with cattle 
and grain, the implements of his calling, his books and 
military equipment ; " because it is unjust in the law 
to unman the man, or uncall the calling." 

It will be seen here that, till within a very short time. 



140 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

how much less regard to the man was paid even in 
this country. 

There were kings and princes in Wales in a small 
way, and there were men of considerable wealth out 
of any oflBcial station, biit with all this the poorest 
citizen had his five acres of land in virtue of natural 
right, and five more as privileges connected with cer- 
tain trades and liberal professions. The punishment 
for theft was rather severe, for to steal to the value of 
four byzants was a capital crime. Necessity was a 
bar to capital punishment, if not a bar against any 
• punishment ; but it must be recollected that without 
the possession of a foot of land, the stealing of any 
thing amounting to fifteen pence was a capital crime 
in England till very recently, and the direst necessity 
was no bar to the penalty. 

Burning was one mode of inflicting the death pen- 
alty. This was a revolting penalty, but it should be 
borne in mind, that in all other countries the penalty 
for believing in Jesus Christ, and worshipping him in 
spirit and in truth, was burning ; in Wales it was 
no crime, being regarded as the highest virtue. To 
draw a naked weapon in a religious assembly was pun- 
ishable as murder ; for such assemblies " were under 
the protection of God and his peace." Another 
reason for the laws was that persons who frequented 
such places "did not trouble any whom they met" 
here. Innocence formed a panoply for its possessors. 
Meeting an armed man and killing him in a fair fight 
was a venal offence, but an assassin was put to death 
without mercy. No one dared to molest a man un- 
armed, nor a woman, nor a man before Ms heard was 
groion. Persons under fourteen years of age could 
not be subjected to capital punishment, and even per- 
sons who from their foreign origin were not citizens, 
had a right inalienable in three things — their wives, 
their children, and their movable goods. A man who 
Avas unjustly treated by the king himself was defended 
by his whole tribe or district ; the chief was bound to 



OP THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 141 

sustain his right, and the king had to make restitution 
like any other man, if he had taken more than the 
laws prescribed. 

All men were presumed innocent till proved guilty. 
And it will be seen in these triads that the laws of 
evidence were as well understood then as they are now 
by any "Philadelphia lawyer," and yet the credit of the 
discovery of these laws of evidence has been given to 
Lord Bacon, because he explained them to the English. 
He might very easily have learned them from some of 
the Welsh records, which were in possession of the 
universities, written in excellent Latin. And besides 
all this, in South Wales a man could not be convicted 
Avithout a fair trial before a jury of his peers. More- 
over, the independence of a Welsh jury is proverbial ; 
they consider themselves judges of the law and the 
facts. If a judge gives such explanations of the law 
as does not tally with their views, they will very readily 
tell him, "We know the law." Judge Blackstone, in 
his Commentaries on English law, when he gives 
eminent instances of close discrimination in juries, 
gives instances in Welsh juries. All this arises from 
the dignity which is attached to the man ; in other 
countries the individual was nothing, the State was all, 
even in matters connected with religion. In all other 
countries there wore objects and modes prescribed by 
law, which must bo observed under the severest pains 
and penalties, no regard being paid to the interests 
and feelings of the individual ; the reverse was the 
case in Wales, although the ministers of religion de- 
rived some support from the state as a matter of public 
benefit, " by making truth manifest, and to prevail 
with peace over disorder and riot;" but individuals 
were not compelled to comply with any doctrines or 
forms which they did not approve. Besides all which 
the authority that made provision for the main- 
tenance of religion was derived from the people, 
through the elective franchise, possessed by all the 
citizens of the male sex whose beards were grown, and 



142 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

all married women. And as no person could be de- 
prived of a privilege once attained in Wales, except in 
punishment of crime, I have no doubt but that widows 
had the elective franchise. 

The translation of these triads was made by Rev. 
Peter Roberts, an eminent scholar. His English is 
not exactly the English of the American people, but 
the general spirit of them will be clearly understood, 
and they will bring to view a state of society, that no 
one unacquainted with Welsh history could have 
supposed to exist in Europe through the middle 
ages. It will also refute the pretensions of the pa- 
pists, noAv so boldly assumed in this country, that 
liberal principles originated among the Roman Catho- 
lics. So far is the allegation from being true, that 
the papists made an interminable war upon these free 
institutions. This opposition would have crushed 
every spark of truth and freedom in any people but 
the Welsh. 

Such has been the conspiracy against the rights of 
hiuuanity for the last twelve hundred or more years, 
that had" not the principles of truth and of human 
rights found a refuge in Wales, it would seem as if 
justice and truth would have been banished from the 
earth. 

In this conspiracy against the heavens and the 
dearest rights of men Avas enlisted the papacy, and 
all the kipgs and governments of Europe, that of 
Wales alone excepted ; and but for the circumstance 
that they broke the Norman power in England, I do 
not see but that England might now be as Popish as 
any other portion of Europe, for the French had main- 
tained some degree of independence in church matters, 
but the English had been trampled upon by the Pa- 
pacy. Philip the Fair, King of France, had removed 
the Pope to Avignon, to have him under his eye, but 
the kings of England, and the whole nation, were terri- 
fied at the approach of a messenger bearing a denun- 
ciation from the Pope. 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 143 

The scene changed as soon as the Welsh expelled 
the Plantagenets, and placed the Tudors on the throne. 
The cruelty and bigotry of Mary may be ascribed to 
the Spanish blood and bigotry derived from her 
mother, and the overbearing temper of her father. 
The ascendency of the Welsh, although not free from 
imperfection, was unfriendly to the tyranny of papacy. 
Although the Tudors themselves were despots, it be- 
came necessary to circulate the Bible as a counterpoise 
against the papacy. Nevertheless, there was a prin- 
ciple inseparable from Welsh ascendency, for it is well 
known that the national standard of Wales was a red 
dragon, and the inscription on it was the national 
motto, "The Truth against the World;" it Avas the 
standard of truth. The English standard was the 
cross of St. George, which was the emblem of cruelty 
and superstition, as held by the Papists. 

When the King of England deprived the Welsh of 
their independence, the English represented St. George 
piercing the Dragon, but at Bosworth field the Dragon 
proved that he was still alive, and trailed the standard 
of England in the dust. Whatever may be said to the 
contrary, these national emblems have a potent mean- 
ing. Nations have their characteristics and tendencies, 
notwithstanding individual exceptions. The liberal prin- 
ciples, now so much admired and cherished,' obtained 
a permanent footing by the victory of Bosworth. The 
Protestant Reformation was only a demonstration on 
another portion of the kingdom of darkness, by the 
overruling providence of God. It favoured the truth in 
Britain, but was evanescent in itself, owing to the want 
of a proper stamina in the German mind, for it has 
gone into Neology. But in Britain the truth had a 
deeper soil ; it had its munition of rocks in Wales, for 
it is apparent that under the following laws and social 
institutions there was a refuse for truth. 



144 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 



The Triads of Dyvnwal Moelmud, called The 
Triads of the Social State,* as comprising 
THE Rights and Duties of the Cyjiry, such as 

THEY WERE BEFORE THEY LOST THEIR PRIVILEGES 
THROUGH THE OPPRESSION, FRAUD, AND TREACHERY 

OF THE Saxons. 

TRANSLATED BY THE LATE REV. PETER ROBERTS. 

1. The three fundamental principles of a social 
state: privilege, possession, and mutual compact. f 

2. The three fundamental principles of social com- 
pact: protection, punishment, and pre-eminence, in so 
far as each is beneficial to country and clan. 

3. The three privileges and protections of the social 
state : security of life and person, security of posses- 
sion and dwelling, and security of natural right. J 

4. Three things that dissolve the social state : affec- 
tion, fear, and connections foreign to it.§ 

5. Three things that confirm the social state : effec- 
tual security of property, just punishment where it is 
due, and mercy tempering justice where the occasion 
requires it in equity. 

* The original words, here rendered " .social state," are gwla- 
doldeh a chydivladoldeb, which appear to imply the general rights 
appertaining to a country and Gonimuuity. The words adopted 
in the translation are, therefore, perhaps as near as the English 
tongue will allow, though not fully expi-essive of the meaning 
ofthe Welsh.— Ed. Tr. ' 

t The Welsh word is cyvraith, which implies, in a popular 
sense, " law." According, however, to its etymological con- 
struction, the meaning above given is accurate. In the Law 
Triads it is defined as "a just establishment that is made be- 
tween a king and his subjects." — Ed. 1,'r. 

X The word, here rendered " security,' is nawdd, which ap- 
pears to be synonymous with the patrocinilim of the Romans, 
and, occasionally, -vvith their asi/Iuni ; in both vs'hich accepta- 
tions it occurs in the Laws of Hvwel. See " Leges Wallicce," 
by Wotton, pp. 14, 15, 118, &c.— Ed. Tr. 

I The word in the original, translated by "connections foreign 
to it, is cymmudd. — Ed. Tr. 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 145 

6. Three things that destroy the social state utterly: 
cruelty instead of punishment, mercy perverting jus- 
tice through partiality, and fraudulent judgment Avhere 
a native or a stranger is debarred of his right.* 

7. The three pillars of a social state : sovereignty, 
the law of the country, and distribution of justice, f 

8. Three duties that are incumbent on each of these 
three pillars : justice to all, privilege and protection 
to all, and competent regulations for the benefit of 
the community as to instruction, information, and re- 
cord. 

9. Three things that defend the social state : power, 
privilege, and just punishment according to the estab- 
lished legal manner. 

10. The three elements of law : knowledge, natural 
right, and conscientiousness. 

11. The three ornaments of the social state : the 
learned scholar, the ingenious artist, and the just 
judge. 

12. The three proofs of a judge {that is, of his ca- 
pacity/ as a judge) :% knowledge of the law, know- 
ledge of the customs, which the law does not super- 
sede, and knowledge of its times,§ and the business 
thereto belonging.|j 

13. Three things which a judge ought always to 
study: equity^ habitually, mercy conscientiously, and 
knowledge profoundly and accurately. 

* Literally it should be — "and a false judgment, whereby a 
man loses his naturkl protection {nawdd), ■whether he be a na- 
tive or an alien." — Ed. Tk. 

t More properly, the " office of a judge," or "legislature," 
{yngneidiaeth). — Ed. Tn. 

% This is a note of the translator, as are all the parenthetical 
observations in italics. — Ed. Tr. 

g Qu. ierrns .?— Ed. Tr. 

II Frawv Ynad, the Judge's Proof, forms the title of the third 
book of the Laws of Hywel. See Wotton's " Leges Wallicce," 
p. 186. And this book it vras necessary every judge should 
thoroughly understand before he undertook the office. — Ed. Tr. 

•[Or " truth'-" (gwirioncdd.) — Ed. Tr. 
13 



146 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

14. Three things necessary to a judge, in order that 
he may know and conscientiously determine any claim 
or plea brought before him : to be earnest in his own 
zeal for the truth, and in searching it out by his own 
natural abilities ; to inquire diligently so as to find out 
the truth from others;* and to be subtle in examining, 
so as, in any cause brought into his court, to discover 
deceit, which otherwise, though he were conscientious, 
might mislead his decision, and pervert justice : for a 
judge ought to be thoroughly clear in his knowledge 
of the cause brought before him, in order that his deci- 
sion may be just and conscientious. 

15. The three chief duties of sovereignty : an hon- 
ourable mutual support {on the part of sovereign cmd 
subject); confirming instruction in the sciences of the 
country, {the constitutional principles,) so that the 
support may be according to prescription and law ;t 
and confirming the privilege of those who perform 
their just duties in clan and community, and also that 
of foreigners in protection of the community. 

16. The three molestations of a state : dissociability, 
that is to say, breach of privilege^ with respect to 
honest men and their property ; injury, § such as theft, 
murder, way-laying, or oppression contrary to laAv or 
prescription ; and negligence, that is, inattention|i to 

* Thei'e seems to be a little omission here. The translation 
should be, literally, thus — " To be inquisitive as to obtaining 
knowledge from other persons, and by other means, that may 
lead to the truth." — Ed. Tr. 

t "And according to country and sovereignty," should have 
been added. — Ed. Tr. 

X More properly, perhaps, " want of protection " [gwalhjm- 
naiocld) ; and "dissociability," immediately preceding might 
have been more accurately rendered by " injustice" or "a failure 
of justice :" the Welsh word is anmraicd. — Ed. Tr. 

I The original is anrliaWi, ivhich may be translated here 
" violence." It means, generally, spoil or pillage, or any vio- 
lent illegal act. — Ed. Tr. 

II "Want of coDsideration" appears to be a more appropriate 
version of the Welsh word gicallymhicyll. — Ed, Tu. 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 147 

regular times, business, and duties, which are above 
the law and cannot be infringed otherwise than by 
common consent of country and sovereign, after their 
examination of past experience and of the necessity 
and advantage of any alteration. 

17. Three things primarily honourable in a sove- 
reign : protection of the good, punishment and pre- 
vention of evil, and a* careful discrimination between 
what is right and wrong in any cause, so as to give a 
just judgment. 

18. The three guardians of law : a learned judge, 
a faithful witness, and a conscientious decision. 

19. Capital inflictions of punishments are three :* 
loss of life,t loss of limb, and exile by hue and cry 
of men and dogs : J and the king may direct which ho 
pleases to be inflicted. 

20. Loss of life may be inflicted three ways : by 
beheading, hanging, or burning ; and the king or lord 
of the territory may direct which he pleases to be in- 
flicted. 

21. Punishments by distress are three: seizure of 
property, imprisonment, and forfeiture of privilege ; 
when the privilege is forfeited, the person and his de- 

* Properly speaking, capital punishment can only apply to 
loss of life : it would therefore have been better to render this 
passage by " the throe supreme penalties of the law." The 
original words are merely Tair cosp ga.darn. — Ed. Tr. 

t The word here translated " loss of life" is eneidvaddeu, and 
implies, literally, the emancipation of the soul from the body. 
According to the Law Triads three persons were anciently 
doomed to capital punishment, Avithout hope of pardon, or, as 
we should now say, " without benefit of clergy." These were 
— ^a traitor to his lord, a malicious murderer, and a confessed 
thief for the valuo of more than fourpence. — Ed. Tr. 

X What is here translated " exile by hue and cry," &c. is 
literally, " exile to outlawry by cry and pursuit of men and 
dogs." According to the Laws of Ilywel, nine men, at least, 
were required to assist in a public hue and cry {cyrch cyhoe- 
ddawg] ; — and it appears from other ancient authority, that the 
pursuit was to be carried on until the culprit was driven into 
the sea.— Ed. Tu. 



148 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

scendants to the ninth generation remain in the state 
of an alien. 

22. Penalty by amercement* is inflicted three ways: 
by seizure of property when it is not paid according to 
the demand ; obliging the person to labour and service 
till security is given for the payment ; and public cor- 
rection, that is to say, a publication by horn and cry 
in every court, sacred place, f fair, market, and regular 
assembly, of the offence for which the penalty was im- 
posed. Neither of these three can be avoided but by 
a lawful payment of the amercement. 

23. Three pleas in bar against the infliction of cap- 
ital punishment by court or judge : that the accused is 
a mother Avho was, in the criminal case alleged, defend- 
ing her child, or is a son who has not yet a beard, or 
is an alien Avho does not understand the language of 
the country, 

24. There are three legal pleas on which capital 
punishment is remitted (essoigned) : the incapacity, 
ignorance, or extreme necessity of the accused; either 
of these three excuse from and bar a capital punish- 
ment. 

25. Three persons who are not to be subjected to 
punishment : one deaf and dumb from birth ; a child 
before it attains understanding; and a natural fool, 
according to the common expression, " An idiot can- 
not be punished." But [instead of punishment) 
written notice on the royal posts or pillars| must be 
given, and proclamation made, with a description of 
the persons of such deaf and dumb person or natural 

* The vrord is camlwno, ^\'hich is often used in the Laws of 
Ilywel in a more limited sense, and is there explained to be a 
fine of three kine or one hundred and eighty pence. — Ed. Tr. 

t More properly here, perhaps, " village." The Welsh word 
is llan. — Ed. Tr. 

X Mr. Roberts (the Translator) expresses his opinion here, 
that "there were two pillars before a court, and that this was 
the origin of the two blue posts before taverns for proclama- 
tions." — Ed. Tr. 



i 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 149 

fool, that the public may be on their guard against 
them, and hence it is said, " The fool goes on the 
post." 

26. The three mutual ties of country and clan : 
paternity, filiation, and brotherhood ; that is to say, 
paternity on the part of the government, in caring, 
directing, and providing for the welfare of the com- 
munity ; filiation in obedience to the paternity, for 
the sake of order and regularity ; and brotherhood, 
in uniting with and aiding the other two in their re- 
spective capacities, so as to strengthen the connection 
between country, clan, and regular government.* 

27. The three ties of brotherhoodf and clan : just 
liberty of ingress and egress, common rights, and just 
laws. 

28. Three things becoming civil society : the sciences 
of wisdom, the useful arts, and the accomplishments 
of refinement.! 

29. The three supports of the arts and sciences : 
instruction given by teachers pi'ivileged and perfectly 
skilled ; privileges conferred for the sake of the sci- 
ences or arts to those who are skilled in them ; and 
rewards secured by law to men of science and artists 
for what is regularly§ done by them according to in- 
junction or agreement. 

30. The firm grounds of social agreement : clear and 
decisive argument, which cannot rationally be with- 
stood ; security of rights, which cannot justly be in- 

* The original expression is teyrnedd dosparthus, which is 
more correctly, " discreet government." — Ed. Tr. 

t The word is brodoriaeih, and perhaps, means here " civil 
society," which " brothei-hood" can hardly imply. The Welsh 
terra, ti'anslated "brotherhood" in the preceding triad, is braw- 
doldeb, a word of different signification from brodoriaeih. — 
Ed. Tr. 

J This triad was left untranslated by Mr. Roberts, since he 
considered it the same as No. 11 ; but this does not appear to 
be exactly the case. — Ed. Tr. 

§ Perhaps "discreetly" or skilfully" would be better : the 
expression is yii ddosparthus. — Ed. Tr. 

13* 



150 TRIADS OP THE SOCIAL STATE 

fringed ; and steady distribution of justice, not to be 
perverted by one High in privilege or office. 

31. Three tilings bring a state or community* to 
ruin: exorbitant privileges ; perversion of justice; and 
an unconcern, "which suffers the regulations of country 
and clan to fall into disorder. 

32. Three things that continue firm only so long as 
tliey are on firm grounds : law, property, and internal 
peace {peace of clan). 

33. Three things essential to every law of general 
obligation : power, equity, and conscientiousness. 

34. Three things essential to the giving of a just 
judgment :f an active and sound mind ; a firm adher- 
ence to the laws ;| and a conscientious decision, whe- 
ther by judge or sovereign. 

35. The three primary considerations of sovereignty : 
the necessities of the country and its allies the judg- 
ment of the wise, and the decision of the general voice 
of the state and its dependencies. § 

36. Three things indispensable to a state of society : 
a chief, as king ; law, enacted by the general voice of 
the country [rhaith gwlad) ; and administration of 
justice. 

* GwladoMeh a chydtcladoldeb ; " the state and community.— 
Ed. Tr. 

t Tri (fcii'niogaeih barn gyviatcn ; " the three perfections of a 
just judgment." — Ed. Tr. 

X Perhaps " a punctilious decision according to law" would 
be nearer the original expression, which is — deddvoldeb gymm- 
raicd ar (jj/vreithiait. — Ed. Tr. 

I Bhaith giclad, here rendered "voice of the state," is de- 
scribed in tlie Laws of llywel to mean the oath of lifty men 
who held lands under the king. And the Law Triads are to 
the same eifect. See AYottou's "Li'yes Wall tea;" pp. I'JO and 
353. The word, here translated "dependencies," is c>/mm- 
raicd, referred to in the last note, and which does not appear to 
have such a signification. The preceding word " allies" seems 
also to be somewhat incorrect as a version of ci/whxd. Perhaps 
tlie whole Triad would be closer to the original if it were thus 
altered : — The three chief duties of sovereignty : on aik'niion 
to the necessities of the country and its dependencies ; to the 
discernment of the wise ; and to the legal decisions and common 
judgment of the community." — Ed. Tr. 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 151 

37. Three things indispensable to a civil community : 
a sovereign head ; union of suffrage in legislation ; and 
judginent by verdict collective from the union of 
common claim, whether in the native of the principal 
or adjoining country. 

38. Three things indispensable to each of the three 
former : knowledge arising from common judgment of 
the circumstances ; justice arising from conscientious- 
ness ; and brotherly love between country and united 
country, between a man and his countrymen, and be- 
tween man and man. Where these are wanting, it is 
difficult to guard against great disunion and injustice. 

39. The three primary objects of the social state : 
common defence ; common privileges of sciences and 
arts ; and the cultivation of the manners and usages 
of peace. 

40. Three things that cannot be cultivated or im- 
proved save in a social state : agriculture, the pri- 
vileged arts and sciences, and regular peace. 

41. Three things that guarantee the peace of a 
foederal country : primitive privileges {or constitutional 
2)nncii)les) in common ; a common form of govern- 
ment ; and the cultivation of science,* protected 
equally in the foederal country both by law and 
natural right. 

42. The three ties of foederation of a state : same- 
ness of language, sameness of laws, and sameness of 
rights. Where these are not the fosderation cannot 
be firm.f 

43. Three things that adorn a foederation : laudable 
science, kind and steady conduct, and regular deport- 
ment in society. J 

* Gwijlodau doetJiineh, "the sciences of wisdom." — Ed. Tr. 

t Perhaps this Triad would, be more correctly rendered as 
follows: — The three common bonds of civil society; a commu- 
nion of language {cyL-iaith) ; a communion of judicial rights 
[cymmraivd) ; and a communion of privileges {cymmraiiU) : 
and withc^ut these no civil society can be firmly established. — 
Ed. Tr. 

X The expression, here translated "kind and steady conduct 



]52 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

44. Three things that constitute a country : kin- 
dred, hinguage, and rights ; and these are called the 
ties to a country. 

45. The three bonds of society : sameness of rights, 
sameness of occupancy, and sameness of constitutional 
laws.* Without these a social state cannot subsist. 

46. Three things, Avithout -wliich there can be no 
(social state of a) country : common language, laws, 
and soil ;,t for without these it cannot support itself in 
peace and union. | 

and regular deportment in society," is srjherwyd cariadus, a 
clqimmraicd ddosparthiis. — Ed. Tr. 

* The original words are cyvnawdd, cyvar, and ci/vraith, 
■which may be rendered " communion of protection, commu- 
nion of tillage, and communion of laws." Cyvar seems to have 
implied, anciently, a kind of treaty of tillage or ploughing com- 
pact mutually agreed upon by two persons, in which sense it 
occurs in the La^ys of Ilyvvel, where it is prescribed that 
" whoever violates his cyvar, into which he has knowingly en- 
tered, shll forfeit, as a fine to the king, three cows, and shall 
indemnify his companion (cyvarivr) for all the loss he may have 
sustained." — See " Lcge^ Wallicce," p. 28-1. The ceremony 
of contracting this mutual obligation was somewhat solemn: — 
the parties binding themselves by an oath, with their hands 
united, that thoy would observe the terms of the contract until 
a certain portion of land, called magJ, equivalent to about 
twelve days' work for one ox, was completely ploughed. See 
ibid. p. 279. The common acceptation of cyvar, at present, is 
an acre of land, though not of the same size as the English 
acre : it contains about 2822 square yards. — Ed. Tr. 

t The Avords here used are cyviaiih, cyvraifli, and q/vardir, 
with respect to which see the notes on Triad 42, and the last 
Triad.— Ed. Tr. 

X The Welsh word, here translated " union," is cyinmrawd, 
upon which some observations have been already oifered in 
these notes, and which, it is here necessary to remark, Mr. 
Roberts does not appear to have translated upon two occasions 
alike: however, it is also proper to add, that the word may 
have too significations, according to its derivation, either from 
brawd, judgment, or braicd, a brother or fellow countryman. 
It seems to be used in the latter sense here, and, consequently, 
" union" is not an improper translation, although not embrac- 
ing the full meaning, which is more strictly "brotherly union." 
Ed. Tr. 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 153 

47. The three primary pursuits of a firm govern- 
ment : privileged trades, scientific kno.wledge, and ag- 
riculture ; for from these three arise all other pursuits 
useful to a state ; and, as the secondary pursuits de- 
pend on the primary, it is a necessity of state to esta- 
blish the primary ones in a privileged and regular 
manner. 

48. Three things without which no country is a 
good one : wood, stone, and wells of water. 

49. Three things of common right to country and 
clan : an acorn wood ;* hunting {ground ;t) and an 
iron mine. Neither of these can become private pro- 
perty. 

50. From these three a right of private property 
attaches to three things : the flesh of an animal taken 
in hunting when the carcass is flayed ; acoi'ns when 
gathered ; and iron ore when dug up. 

51. Three things that are the private property of a 
man in the social state, [that is to say, of such an one as 
is a native Welshman by priority of privilege :|] his 
house ; his cattle-fold and granary, [oi' stach-yard. §) 

52. Every man, whether foreigner or Welshman, has 

"" It is a common tradition that acorns, as ■well aa fern root, 
were used, amongst the ancient Britons, as a succedancum for 
bread. According to another set of Triads, {Triadd y Cludau) 
the " three progressions without notice wore those of hunting, 
corn-gathering, and an iron mine." — Ed. Tr. 

t The word is Jielwriaeih, properly, perhaps, the diversion of 
hunting, not merely the ground. From the Law Triads it ap- 
pears that there were annually three free or common hunts in 
Wales, — that of b«es, of the fox, and of the otter. The latter 
is still common in many parts of the principality. According 
to the laws of Ilywel, the royal hunt was to be pursued for the 
king's benefit, until the first of November, but, from that time 
until the ninth of the same month, the huntsmen were to hunt 
on their own account. ^^Leges WalUcce," p. 258. — Ed. Tr. 

X The words between crotchets are omitted by the Translor 
tor. — Ed. Tpv. 

^ " Stack-yard" is more proper than "granary." The word 
is ydarth, a compound of y^ and garih; but the word now com- 
monly used is ydlan. — Ed. Tr. 



154 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

a right of private property in three respects : his wife ; 
his children; and his movable 'goods. 

53. Every man has a peculiar property in three re- 
spects, which cannot be transferred, or given in pay- 
ment of a fine : his wife ; his children ; and his argyvreu. 
By argyvreu are meant clothes, arms, and the imple- 
ments of his lawful calling ;* for, without these, a man 
is deprived of his station as a man, and it would be 
unjust in the law to unman the man, or uncall the 
calling.'}' 

54. The three ornaments of a clan : book, harp, and 
sword ; and these cannot be seized by distress of court 
or law.l 

55. Three persons that live fully privileged in a fa- 
mily, not being put to manual labour, work or office : 
an infant; one in old age; and the instructor of the 
fam.ily. These put not a hand to the sword, the horn, 
or the plough. 

56. Three of privileged rank, against whom a wea- 
pon is not to be unsheathed: a bard; the chief of a 
clan ; and a messenger from a bordering country. § 

57. Three of common rank, against whom a Aveapon 
is not to be unsheathed ; a man who is unarmed ; a man 
before he has a beard ; and a woman. 

58. Three privileged places, wherein no weapons are 
to be unsheathed, {opposed) : the session of country 

* Argyvreu means also, the jewels and other property which 
a wife brings with her as her dowry. See Cambro-Briton, vol. 
iii. p. 199.— Ed. Tr. 

f The original expression is anwriaw gwr neu angheliiyddu 
celvijddyd. — Ed. Tr. 

X There is something in this provision not unlike the modern 
English law, Avhich privileges the implements of a man's trade 
from seizure for rent : it has been even decided that the books 
of a scholar or student come witliin the exemption, and on the 
same principle, no doubt, the harp of a musician. — Ed. Tr. 

f We learn from the Institutional Triads of Bardism, that it 
was one of the ancient privileges of the Bards that no naked 
weapon was to be borne in their presence, which agrees with 
this Triad as well as with No. 58 below. See Cambko-Bkiton, 
vol. ii. p. 291.— Ed. Tk. 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 155 

and lord ; the session of assembly of maintenance, 
■which is a general collective assembly; and the session 
of bards. 

59. There are three national sessions, by privilege, 
in the island of Britain, [under the protection of the 
nation of the Cymry :*] the session of the bards; which 
is the most ancient in dignity ; the session of country 
and lord, that is to say a court of law, consisting of a 
general assembly of judges and constitutional asses- 
sors ; and the session of union and maintenance, that is 
to say, a collective assembly of the nation, consisting 
of rulers, chiefs of clans, f and men of wisdom, from 
country and district, {or border country,) [according to 
the ordinances of civil community and laws, as affect- 
ing a country in relation to itself or in relation to a 
border country ;|] by and with the assent and consent 
of country and country, ruler and ruler, and the agree- 
ment of privilege and privilege to act for the sake of 
peace and justice.§ And this shall bind all parties. 
No weapon is to appear drawn in these sessions, or 
within their limits, or during their continuance. || 

* The words between crotchets are omitted in the translation. 
Ed. Tr. 

t The word is pencenediodd, which is, perhaps, in some re- 
spects, synonymous with the " chiefs of clans," as the name 
was formerly understood in the Highlands of Scotland. For 
some remarks on the meaning of pcncenedl, see Cambro-Briton, 
vol. iii. p. 247.— Ed. Tr. 

X The words between crotchets are omitted in the translation. 
Ed. Tr. 

^ The translation in this part is somewhat confused ; but 
that may be, in a great degree owing to the peculiar idiom, 
and singular mode of expi-ession of the Welsh tongue, which it 
is scarcely possible, in some cases, to transfer Avith literal ex- 
actness, into any other. — Ed. Tr. 

II The three sessions or assemblies, to which this Triad and 
the two following relate, may be described, in popular terms, 
as the bardic assembly, the court of civil judicature, and the 
conventional or extraordinary court. The Welsh terms are 
gorsedd beirdd, gorsedd gwlad ac arglwydd, and gorsedd q/nghyd 
cynnal called, also, gorsedd ddygynmdl. Gorsedd, it should be 
observed, is, more properly, a " court," or "congress," than a 



156 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

60. There are three national sessions by privilege, 
to which are subject of right those who are interested 
as to protection, oflace, or dignity, or advantages ac- 
cruing from trade or science, which are in the cogni- 
zance and jurisdiction of one or other of these sessions, 
and the subjection to them is of right, and due to the 
session whilst in deliberation, viz. — 1. The session of 
the bards of the island of Britain, which has a judicial 
cognizance of every one who desires to profit by his 
talents in music, artificers' employment, or bardism ; 
and all Avho attend the session are under its protection 
during the sitting, until its ofiice and business are ter- 
minated. 2. The session of the king, or lord of the 
disti'ict (s7w're*), and his assessors, judges, and barons; 
that is, every Cymro ( Welshman), who is a proprie- 
tary of land, thus forming a court of justice and of 
law. 3. The session of general constitutional assem- 
bly ; that is, a general assembly of country and its 
dependencies, to which the two preceding are amena- 
ble, f For, though the bardic session be prior in dig- 
nity, and the parent of all science, yet the session of 
general constitutional assembly takes precedence by 
right of power and necessity for the regulation and 
establishment of justice, privilege, and protection, in 
the country, its dependencies, and annexed and sepa- 
rated territories, in alliance. And without this general 
constitutional assembly, the other two could possess 
neither privilege nor power. For this session of gene- 
ral determination! of country and clan has three quali- 

" session," as above translated. Of the gorsedd ddi/gynrndl, or 
conventional assoniblj, (which was also of three sorts,) full par- 
ticulars maybe found in the Law Triads, (Arch, of ^yales, vol. 
iii. p. 329,) and in the Lfgen WaUicw, p. 340. It would swell 
this note far beyond all due limits to insert them here. — Ed. 
Tr. 

* The word in Welsh is cyvoeth. — Ed. Tr. 

t The original expression is ac i lion y dylyid xcarogaeih y 
ddicy ereill, which is, literally, "and to which the two others 
owe homage." — Ed. Tr. 

X Gorsedd rhaiih ddygymndl is the expression, which may be 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 157 

fications, that is to say, it consists of the wisdom, the 
power, and the will of country and dependency, clan 
and united clan, in order to make, amend, and con- 
firm law and union ; and to confirm equity and privi- 
lege as to neighbouring countries, and territories in 
alliance, whether of borderers or separate, whether of 
foreigner or AVelshmen, by common consent, so that 
in no part of the territories can it be Avithstood. This 
general session controls all other right of determina- 
tion and of power, law, or authority, so that none 
other is equal to it ; and it was this general constitu- 
tional assembly which first conferred the privileges of 
the lord of district, and his territory, and of the ses- 
sion of bards. In fact, it is evident that no privilege 
can exist but by the respect paid to it [this court] by 
country and clan. 

61. There are three sessions of the Cymry, by the 
right of country and clan*: — 1. The session of the 
bards of the isle of Britain ;t the dignity and privi- 
lege whereof arise from its wisdom and constitution, 
and the necessity for it ; or, accoi'ding to other learned 
instructors, from its wisdom, constitution, and intent. 
The proper privilege and ofiice of the session of bards 
is to maintain, preserve, and give sound instruction 

rendered, "a court of conventional justice ;" or, from the con- 
text, it may be called, "a general court of legislation." — Ed. Tr. 

* The words in the original are, literally, " three courts, (or 
assemblies,) according to the privileges of the country and 
nation of the Cymry." — Ed. Tr. 

t The Gorscdd, or Congress of the Bards, was a meeting of so 
much importa.nce amongst the ancient Cymry, that some ac- 
count of the time and manner of holding it may be here neces- 
sary. The following, as the most accurate hitherto published, 
is, therefore, extracted from the Essay on Bardism, ])refixed to 
Mr. (now Dr.) Owen Pughc's Translation of the Poems of Lly- 
warch Ilcn. — " The regular times of holding a Gorsidd, or meet- 
ing, were the two solstices and equinoxes : subordinate meet- 
ings might also be held every new and full moon, and, also, at 
the quarter days, which wore chietly for instructing disciples. 
The regular meetings were supposed to be well known with 
respect to time and place ; for there were appointed places as 
14 



158 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

in religion, science, and morality;* to preserve the me- 
mory of the laudable acts of individuals or clans ; of 
the events of the times, and the extraordinary pheno- 
mena of nature ; of wars, and regulations of country 
or clan ; their retaliations on their enemies and vic- 
tories over them ; also faithfully to preserve the me- 
mory of pedigrees, marriages, liberal descent, privi- 
leges, and duties of the Cymry, and, when required 
by the other sessions, to publish what is necessary and 



well as times." [This agrees with what Ctesar says of the 
Druids of Gaul. Bell. Gall. lib. vi. c. 13 and 14.] "Irregular 
meetings could only be held by proclamation ; or, if arbitrai-ily 
held on urgent occasions, their acts required the confirmation 
of a Gorsedd, or public assent by subsequent proclamation. 
The Gorsedctau, or meetings, were always held in the open air, 
and in the face of the sun and in the eije of light. The place was 
set apart by forming a circle of stones round the Maen Gorsedd." 
[The stone of Assembly : — it was also called Crair Gorsedd, or 
the Covenant Place of Assembly, and Maen Llog, or the Stone 
of Covenant.] "At the Gorseddau it was absolutely necessary 
to recite the bardic traditions; and, with this, whatever came 
before them was considered and determined upon. The bards 
always stood bare-headed and bare-footed, in their uni-coloured 
robes, at the Gorsedd, and within the Cylch Cyngrair, or Circle 
of Federation. The ceremony used on the opening of a meet- 
ing was the sheathing of the sword on the Maen Gorsedd, at 
which all the Presiding Bards assisted ; and this was accom- 
panied with a very short pertinent discourse. When the busi- 
ness was finished, the meeting was closed by taking up, but not 
unsheathing, the sword, with a few words on the occasion, when 
all covered their hands and feet. There were certain mottos 
used by the Bards ; that for the general assembly of the isle 
of Britain was, Gwir yn erbyn y hyd. The truth in opposition to 
the world. Those for the provincial meetings were such as had 
been adopted at the first establishment of them respectively. 
They were used as declaratory of the cadair or talaith, meeting 
or province, whereof the bard was a member, or of the meeting 
that enacted anything respecting the institution." Such were 
the principle features of a Bardic Congress, though it is not 
certain to what precise era the preceding account has reference. 
Other particulars may be found in the same work, as well as in 
Mr. E. Williams's " Lyric Poems," and in the first volume of 
the Cambro-Britox, p. 445. — Ed. Tr. 
* In the original, syberwyd. — Ed. Tr. 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 154 

obligatory in the legal form of notice and proclama- 
tion. Farther than this, by office or privilege, the 
session of bards is not obliged to concern itself. The 
bards, therefore, are the authorized instructors of the 
Cymry of country or clan, having full privilege, more 
extensive than the common right of Cymry by birth ; 
viz. (m addition to) five acres of ground free : also, 
each is entitled to a gratuity as due to hi-8 profession.* 

* The duties and privileges, assigned in this and the preced- 
ing Triads to the conventional assemblies of the bards, accord 
so exactly with what is spacltied on the same point in the In- 
stitutional Triads of Bardism, that an extract from these latter 
cannot be out of place here. 

1. The three primary privileges of the bards of the isle of 
Britain: maintenuace wherever they go ; that no naked weapon 
be borne in their presence ; and that their testimony be pre- 
feiTcd to that of all others. 

2. The three ultimate objects of bardism : to reform morals 
and customs ; to secure peace ; and to praise everything that 
is good and excellent. 

3. Three things forbidden to a bard : immorality ; satire ; 
and the bearing of arms, {dwyn anvaiol, dwyn anvoes, a dwyn 
arvau.) 

4. The three modes of instruction used by the bards of the 
isle of Britain : the instruction of voice ; song ; and usage by 
means of convention, (or congress). 

5. The three delights of the bards of the isle of Britain: the 
pi'osperity of science ; the reformation of manners ; and the 
triumph of peace over devastation and pillage. 

6. The three splendid honours of the bards of the isle of 
Britain : the triumph of learning over ignorance ; the triumph 
of reason over irrationality ; and the triumph of peace over 
depredation and plunder. 

7. The three attributes of the bards of the isle of Britain : 
to make truth manifest, and to diffuse the knowledge of it; to 
perpetuate the praise of all that is good and excellent ; and to 
prevail with peace over disorder and violence. 

8. The three necessary, but reluctant, duties of the bards of 
the isle of Britain : secresy for the sake of peace and the pub- 
lic good; invective lamentation demanded by justice ; and 
the unsheathing of the sword against the lawless and depre- 
datory. 

For the remainder of these " Institutional Triads," see the 
second volume of Mr. E. Williams's "Lyric Poems," and the 
Cambro-Briton, vol. ii. p. 290. — 'Ed. Tk. 



160 TKIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

2. The second is the session of country and territory,* 
that is, a session of judicature and legal decision, for 
the intent of justice and security to country and clan, 
(or the conuuunity generally or individually,) and their 
retainers and tenantry. For the departments of these 
several sessions are these : that of the session of gene- 
ral assembly to make laws "when necessary, and confirm 
them in country and dependency,! Avhich cannot be 
done ■without the concurrence of the dependency ; the 
session of judicature decides on infractions of the laAV, 
and punishes them; and the session of bards teaches 
useful sciences, judges concerning them, and preserves 
the memory of family concerns regularly and truly ; 
and neither of the three is to oppose pretensions of its 
own, in derogation of either of them, but, on the con- 
trary, each should confirm, and co-operate with, the 
other two amicably. 3. The third session is that of 
the general constitutional assembly, the general and 
especial object Avhereof is to make such alterations for 
the better in the laws, or such new laws of country and 
district as may be necessary ; by consentt taken in the 
districts of the chiefs of clans, men of wisdom and the 
sovereign paramount. The sovereign paramount, or 
sovereign head of the government, is the lineal heir in 
the eldest line of descent of the kings or princes of 
the district, and in him the authority§ rests ; and his 

* The same as the Gorsnhl Gitlad ac Anjhci/dd. See the 
precodinix note on this point. It would have been better, per- 
haps, if the tvanshitor liad been unilorni throughout in the 
names he has given to the respective assemblies. — Ed. Tr. 

t This is the version of </iclad a chi/wlad almost always adopted 
by Mr. Roberts, and it appears to embrace the true sense of the 
expression. — En. Tr. 

J Gail raiffi ci/iclad. — En. Tr. 

I Ci^t'raw does not ap]ioar to imply "authority." It means, 
generally, a commotion or agitation ; in which sense it occurs 
in the Law Triails, where the " three commoWoiis (or instigations) 
to revenge " are described to bo " the shrieking of female rela- 
tions, their seeing the bier of their kindred, and their seeing 
the unrevouged graves of their kindred." Is it possible that 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS 161 

determination is without appeal as the authority of 
the country. 

62. There are three surreptitious* sessions. 1. When 
one who is a hiwful magistrate, in the estate of a 
lord, is obliged to oppose a judicial decision, or en- 
mities, or oppression ; as, for instance, to alter or re- 
sist the laws of the king, he being obliged to convoke 
a particular or general assembly of country and clan 
on matter of constitutional right, when necessity de- 
mands it. Neither ought the community to oppose the 
magistrate who performs this duty ; because that none 
but the lord can make a law, neither can he do so but 
by the consent of his country and clan in assembly ; 
and tliere cannot be an assembly without notification 
of the place, time, intent of the meeting ; and also provi- 
sions, shelter, lodgings, firing, and attendance. 2. The 
constitutional session of the ciiief of a clan, on a 
complaint of oppression or injustice on tlie part of the 
king or his judges, or Avhen the law does not aiford 
clear and permanent justice. In such case every 
Cymro has a right to his privilege by birth, and the 
chief of his clan has a sovereign authority to arrange 
the business with the aid and assistance of his clan and 
of men of wisdom ; and tlie country ought not to op- 
pose it. For the chief of a clan has a sovereign 
authority, and every native Cymro has the same in 
right of the chief of the clan ; and the oaths of threo 
hundred legal men, that is to say, men who owe service 
by tenure of land, shall confirm that which is done by 

cyfraw should be in this place a misrea(3ing for cyfraiod, wliicli 
has the moaning adopted by Mr. Uoberts of "authority" or 
"influence?" — Ed. Tr. 

* The word is anghyvarch, ■which, as here nsod, may bo more 
properly rendered " extraordinary " or " extrajudicial." It 
certainly has the meaning of " surreptitious " on many occasions 
in the "Welsh laws, but not in reference to a national council. 
See "Leges WaUiccn" in the index. And that the assemblies, 
here described, were of an " extraordinary " or " extrajudicial " 
character is sufficiently obvious from the context. Angyhyvarch 
means, literally, "without notice." — Ed, Tr. 

14* 



162 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

constitutional right arising from the authority of a 
native Cymro, by the protection and right of the chief 
of his clan. For every Cymro has a right to {the fro- 
duce of) his labour, to (making) his complaint and his 
claim, according to his natural understanding, under 
the protection of the privilege of the chief of his clan ; 
and every chief of a clan has a right to {the siqjport 
of) the constitutional principles and voice of his coun- 
try ; and, Avhen appeal is made to the voice of the 
country, has a right to its sovereignty, and every sove- 
reignty has a right to {the support of) its territory {over 
which it extends) in the general voice of its assembly, 
least the law or privilege of the social state should be 
infringed. So that in this protection, {viz. of the chief 
of the clan,) every native Cymro has the privilege of 
his country, his voice, his authority, and his district, 
in general assembly, 3. The third {of these sessions) 
is one for the purpose of determining the merits of two 
or more laws, where they are held of equal authority, 
and by circumstances of the times, changes in the 
world, modes or states of life, the one tends more to 
injustice than the other. And that which is right can- 
not be done till it be known wherein the wrong con- 
sists ; nor can any reformation be introduced unless 
the lord and community be apprised of it ; neither are 
the lord and his people to introduce it Avithout the 
knowledge and consent of their district, according 
to the regular prescription. For these purposes, {of 
these sessio7is,) legal notice and proclamation for a 
year and a day should be published, that a session of 
general determination, with the knowledge of country 
and clan, will be held, in order to consider what is 
wrong, and to reform it by just consent ; and con- 
tinue the discussion whilst there is just and necessary 
cause. And when a law is to be altered, due notice 
is to be given to country and clan, that they may 
know what is to be substituted for that which is to be 
repealed.* 

* The legal provisions, embraced in this Triad, are so fully 
explained, that they require no illustration. The reader, who 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 163 

63. Three things that are not to be done but by the 
joint will of country and district, and the paramount 
sovereign chin.'''' 1, Altering the law. 2. Deposing 
the king. 3. Teaching new doctrines, or introducing 
new regulations in the session of the bards. For these 
things (as to the bards) ought not to be done until 
country and clan is informed of their nature, their 
tendency, and regular order, according, to the judg- 
ment of the learned Avho are authorised by law, and 
instructors of approved wisdom acknowledged by the 
general session of the bards of Britain, of country and 
district : where the purpose or discussion is in contra- 
vention to this, the doctrine is termed vain, and the 
profession of it obtains no privilege or profit. For 
neither law, nor regulation, nor profession, nor skill 
in any scientific respect, can acquire privilege until 
it be approved on examination by the judgment of 
the wise and learned, whose wisdom, and knowledge, 
and authority, have been privileged by country and 
clan. As to the deposition of a king ; this can only 
be done by the unanimous voice of country and dis- 
trict. In a district the oaths of .three hundred is the 
verdict in every territory of a lord, having a court of 
his own, subject to the court of the king in chief; and 
the majority of the districts sliall confirm what is de- 
cided by the votes. The king in chief is the king or 

is acquainted -with the English common law, will be at no loss 
to trace an analogy, in more than one instance, with the ancient 
Welsh customs ; and which, there can be no doubt, were well 
known to Alfred, who, accordingly, availed hunself of them in 
the formation of his own famous code. — Ed. Tr. 

* The original expression is a chenedyl henbaladr. Does the 
latter word imply the meaning here given it ; or does it not 
rather signify, " especially" or " particularly," as it is used in 
the Introduction to the Laws of llywel ? where it is said, that, 
when the Laws were completed, the convocation, employed in 
compiling them, invoked " the malediction of God, of that 
assembly, and of Wales more especially ( Cymru hcnhaladyr) 
upon those who should transgress them. — Ed. Tr. 



164 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

prince eldest in the line of descent of the kings of the 
whole country.* 

64. Three ties of union that ought to he indissoluhle 
as to country and clan. 1. The tie of country and 
clan, that is, a Welshman, -wherever he be, in any 
country or district of Wales, is a Welshman of the 
same and equal social right in the one district as in 
any other, preserving still his particular right in the 
lordship of his native district. 2. The tie of govern- 
ment ; for there ought to be but one king of all Wales, 
and he the lineal heir of the eldest branch of the 
princes of the whole country, and his word superior to 
the word of every other prince, that is to say, in the 
general session, f but not in other cases. For in all 
other cases the word of a prince or other lord, having 
a court of justice, is his word {is absolute) in his own 
territory and within its jurisdiction ; and the eldest 
by descent is called king of all Wales, and king of 
Wales paramount. By Wales paramount, is to be 
understood the whole assemblage of the Welsh in all 
its territories and under its jurisdiction ; each of whom 
is of equal right and privilege through its districts, 
except as to possessions and rights which are personal 
and particular, and not natural rights, such as those 
to land and offices in courts of justice. Hence the 
expression, "Every part of AVales is free to a Welsh- 
man." v Moreover it is the prerogative of the king in 
chief to appoint and regulate the order of the general 
constitutional session, the session paramount, and the 
taking of the sense {hi/ voice) of Wales paramount. 
Neither can an individual or a country, separately, do 
that which belongs to sceptre and sceptre paramount.^ 

* According to the Editors of the Archaiology of AYales, 
there is a dolect in this Triad as it appears in that work, and 
from whieh this translation is made. — Ed. Tr. 

f C>/nnnU ri/whu^, which may be more correctly translated 
"national assembly." — Ed. Tk. 

J Tlie Welsh expression here is o baladr ac yn henbaladr. 
Paladr means a shaft or spear, and may be here used meta- 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 165 

3. The tie of the same common law, and right, and 
verdict. For the law, right, and verdict, ought to be 
uniformly the same to every native Welshman in every 
part of Wales, without distinction ; because every 
part of Wales, without distinction, gives the same privi- 
leges to {is the country of) a Welshman, except as to 
particular private concerns, not dependant on his being 
a native of the country. Hence the expression, the 
country of Wales paramount ; the race [or clan) of 
Welsh paramount ; and the rights of Wales paramount. 

G5. Every Welshman by birth has three native 
rights, and iu the term Welshman a Welshwoman is 
comprehended :* 1. The cultivation and tenure of five 
free acres of ground, in his own right, as a native 
Welshman ; and the offspring of a sojourner, or 
foreigner, in the fourth degree of worthy marriages, 
that is to say, the great-grandson is included. 2. The 
use of defensive arms and signs, [armorial hearings,'\) 
if a native Welshman of indisputably honourable de- 
scent, but not otherwise. 3. And the right of voting 
under the protection of the chief of his clan, which a 
ihale attains when he has a beard, and a female when 
she marries. 

QQ. Vassals are of three descriptions, neither of 
which attains the rank and privilege of a native 
Welshman until the ninth generation. 1. A reputed 
son, that is, a son denied in a lawful manner by his 
father, or by injunction of law, because he was not 
born in worthy and regular wedlock ; or, moreover, 

pliorically for sovorois^nty. With respect to the meaning of 
penhaladr on partlcuhir cases, see a note in the last page ; but 
it is possible that it may here have a dilFerent application. — 
Ed. Tr. • 

* For want of corresponding words in the English language, 
the translation is here guilty of a little Ilibernianism, The 
original expression is ac eipiocs dan caw Cijmyo ij cauir ar Gym- 
raes. — Ed. Tr. 

t Arwyddion is the Welsh word, and means " emblems," ov 
" banners ;" but " armorial bearings" is the proper translation 
here. — Ed. Tr. 



166 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

•because he was born contrary to the law and privilege 
of country and clan. 2, A man who forfeits his patri- 
mony and privilege by decree of it, as the penalty of 
misdemeanor, or crinvinal conduct, which deserves it. 
3. A stranger, or foreigner, who fixes his residence in 
"Wales. No one of these attains the rank and privi- 
lege of a native Welshman until the ninth generation. 
This was established by law, for three reasons, that is 
to say — 

67. There are three reasons for vassalage^ in conse- 
quence whereof irregular persons are not legal, or 
juridical.* 1. To prevent treachery from foreigners 
and their offspring. 2. To prevent foreigners from 
obtaining possession of the lands of the native Welsh. 
And, 3. To prevent celibacy, and the irregular and 
illegal propagation of offspring by fornication or 
adultery. Hence mercenary foreigners and their off- 
spring, a denied reputed son and his offspring, and 
criminals and their offspring, are held to be in the 
same prdicamcnt to the ninth generation ; and every 
foreigner and vassal must be under the oath and pledge 
of the lord of the district, and his lord proprietary. 
That is to say, his lord proprietary shall take the 
vassal under his protection, and give him land in his 
vassalnge ; and a strangerf shall be subject to the 
will until he attains the privilege of a native Welsh- 
man, in the fourth class of his offspring, by worthy 
marriages with Welshwomen by descent. These mar- 
riages are thus regulated : the son of a stranger, or 
foreigner, sworn to the lord of the district, who, with 
the consent of her clan, marries a native Welshwoman, 
attains, by this marriage, the second degree of descent 
and rank, and their children the third. If either of 
these m.arry a Welshwoman of worthy blood, he at- 
tains the fourth de-rree ; and a son of this marriage 



* Ci^vmHh a cJii;ni in rated is the original expression. — Ed. Tr. 
t Mub aiUi: — see Cajibko-Britox, vol. iii. p. 2lil, in the 
notes. — Ed. Tr. 



OF THE ANCIENT ElUTONS. 167 

has the right of the fifth degree, he being [called, or 
deemed) the grandson of tlie origin;)] stranger. This 
son marrying a native Welshwoman, comes to the sixth 
degree of descent, and the son of this marriage attains 
the right of great-grandson to the original stranger, 
the [nominal) great-grandson being of the seventh de- 
gree, lie, by marrying a native Welshwoman, attains 
the eighth degree in right of his wife, it being the 
right of every native Welshwoman to raise the degree 
of a stranger whom she marries, "and a son of this 
[nominal) great-grandson, by such a marriage, attains 
the ninth degree, and is therefore termed the seizor 
[goresgynnydd^) or taker of possession, because he 
seizes [goresgyn), or takes possession of his land, that 
is, his tenure of five acres, his professional rewards, 
his right as to the chief of the clan, and every other 
right common to a native Welshman. lie becomes 
also the head of his family, and has the right of chief 
of clan as to them and their ofispring, and also to his 
ancestors, if any of them be alive, whether it be 
father, grandfather, or great-grandfather, but no 
farther ; and either of these in the right of the seizor 
shall acquire the right of a native Welshman. Also 
in pleas of land-tenui'c he is not termed the son, but 
the seizor of his father, grandfather, or great-grand- 
father, uncles, or cousins, when one or the other is 
worthily married. The seizor sliall be chief of clan to 
all of them, when he attains perfect manhood ; and 
each of them shall be man and relation to him, and his 
word authoritative over each of them, and he shall not 
be liable to oath or pledge [as to a lord), for the clan 
shall betiike themselves to the seizor, and have their 
lights free, under the protection of their chief; nor 
shall they have their lands, saving such as they claim 



* Goresgynydd is, literally, a seizor, oi- occupant, l>iit means, 
in the Welsh lawH, a child in the hfth decree of lineal de- 
scent, as a grandson's grandchild. It is also used for an illegal 
possessor of land. — Ed. Tr. 



168 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

by their particular degrees, or the protection of the 
ninth degree, that is, the seizor. 

68. There arc three privileged professions, Avith com- 
plete privilege, that is, to five free acres of land and 
professional fees to each person, who is of approved 
knovpledge and practice {in his pi'ofession), exclusive 
and in addition to the land due to him as a native 
Welshman. These professions arc bardisni, me- 
chanics,* and iStud^^, or book-learning. f Each of 
these has a right to five free acres in consideration of 
his profession, he being in character and practice of 
the one or the other, -with approbation of a learned 
teacher of the profession. No one is to follow two 
professions, or, if he does, his full privilege can only 
be in right of one of them ; for two professions or 
employments cannot be pui'sued at the same time with 
proper efiect or regularity. 

* The original word is feryUtlaetJi, Which does not seem to 
have quite the extensive meaning here given it. It implies 
more properly, pcrhajis, the art of metallurgy, or, in a still more 
confined sense, the craft of a smith, in which acceptation it is 
frequently used by the early poets and others. On one occa- 
sion (see Caio Ct/mraeg) feryll, however, occurs as a term for 
the Georgics of Virgil, whence the word may appear to have 
had the sense of " agriculture," or " tillage." FerylUiaetli may 
be considered, therefore, to have a general reference to such 
trades as are concerned with metals, as Avell as with bodies that 
undergo the operation of lire, and hence it may be taken to 
have also the meaning of " chymistry." Dr. Davies, accord- 
ingly, renders it, in his Dictionary, chymia. See Triad, 73, 
post. — Ed. Tr. 

f In the Triodd y Chidau, or Triads of Progressions, (which 
immediately precede these Triads in the Archaiology, p. 283.) 
The " three domestic progressions, under privilege of the na- 
tional customs of the Cymry," are declared to be those of " a 
bard, a smith, or metalist [j'crylU), and a harper." This pro- 
vision for the protection of certain persons in the itinerant 
exercise of their several occupations has an evident reference 
to an early stage of society, to which, indeed, the Triodd y 
Cludait, from other features, have all the appearance of being 
adapted. Clud, it may be proper to mention, means, literally, 
a carriage, or movement: its use on the present occasion^ how- 
ever, seems to accord with the English word "progression," 
above adopted. — Ed. Tr. 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 169 

69. There are three professions wliich vassals ought 
not to learn without permission of their lords proprie- 
tary, and of the lord of the district : viz. the three 
privileged professions, bardism, mechanics, and book- 
learning. And, if the lord proprietary and the king 
permit a stranger to learn either of these three pro- 
fessions, and to take up the character of it, and prac- 
tise it, and their skill be approved, the law directs that 
they shall not be interrupted, but be permitted to pro- 
ceed, and that they shall be freemen for life, each in 
right of the privileged profession, and also to be of 
right entitled to five free acres.* For rank has at all 
times been conferred on laudable professions and know- 
ledge, for the sake of dotnesticating and settling coun- 
try and clan, and cultivating habits of good manners, 
gravity, and wisdom, by regular instruction, and peace- 
able communion of privileges, throughout country and 
clan, and their connections. For there cannot be a 
peaceable domestication and settlement without the 
aid of the laudable professions ; neither can these have 
force if those who practise them have not rank ; and 
hence it has been adjudged, by laAV and general con- 
vention, that the professions ought neither to be im- 
peded nor gbstructed, nor deprived of their privilege, 
nor should they Avho follow these professions. 

70. There are three who, from being slaves, become 
free men rf a bard, a mechanic, and a scholar ; they 
being of another nation. That is to say, though the 
father be a slave and an alien, or vassal, the son, who 
arrives at the profession and practice and official pri- 
vilege of either of the privileged professions, shall be 
a freeman for life, and have a right to five acres ; be- 



* The Welsh words sire pnmei-wi rhyddion. An erw, accord- 
ing to the Laws of Ilywel, comprised, in length, sixteen yokes, 
of sixteen feet each, and two in breadth. See " Leges Wal- 
licce," p. 139— Ed. Tr. 

t This would have been more correctly translated " Three 
sons of slaves that become free:" — in the original, Tri mab 
rhydd o gaeih. — Ed, Ts. 

15 



170 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

cause that no one of approved knowledge in either of 
these professions ought to be a slave or without privi- 
lege. But still, though the individuals, in right of 
their professions, shall be free, their children shall be 
slaves and aliens, and they are called " The three 
Slaves {descended) from Freemen ;" and such they 
remain until they arrive at the degree of the seizor,* 
to take rank by descent, which thenceforward they do 
as native Welshmen. Yet, the learned say that an 
imperishable degree is due to a privileged profession, 
inasmuch as the descendants shall, in right of that 
profession, be one degree nearer to the seizor; and 
that, whereas in family descent the right of seizor is 
acquired only by the fourth man, by marriages it may 
be acquired by the third man, in right of such a pro- 
fession ; every such profession bringing the degree of 
the professor nearer to that of the seizor, because it is 
just that it should obtain a degree towards the seisin. 
The assertion, therefore, is this : — if the lord proprie- 
tary and the king permit one, who from a bond-man 
may become free, to acquire the character, service, 
and privilege of either of these professions, and hon- 
ourable marriages are contracted, none of their de- 
scendants can afterwards become bond-men. Thus, 
by protection and privilege of a privileged profession, 
vassals, who are aliens, may, in the third man, attain 
the seisin and right of a native AVelshman. [That is 
to say, it is lawful for a profession to have its full right 
and privilege of five free acres in common with a per- 
son claiming by blood and gentility of descent. f] 

* The word here is goresgi/nydd ; upon which see a preceding 
note. — Ed. Tr. 

t The passage between crotchets was omitted in the transla- 
tion. The words, here rendered " ckiiming by blood and gen- 
tility of descent," ai-e cL hraint acli a boncdd o waed cyuhwymcl. 
In the Welsh laws a gentleman by birth {honheddig cymhwy- 
naid] was one who was a "Welshman lioth by the paternal and 
maternal side, and who had not numbered amongst his ances- 
tors a slave, a foreigner, or one of ignoble blood. The fine for 
the murder of such a person was seventy-three cows, and, for 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. - 171 

And the degree gained in right of the profession shall 
not fall or ever be taken away from the family. 

71. There are three orders of the profession of 
Bardism. 1. The Chief Bard, {Priv-vardd,) that is 
to say, a Bard of full privilege, who has acquired his 
degree and privilege of a Bard of Session, by regular 
instruction by an approved teacher; his office is to 
keep up a memory of arts and sciences, this being his 
duty as a Bard regularly and fully instituted ; and 
also to preserve the memory of that which concerns 
the country as families, marriages, pedigrees, armorial 
bearings, divisions of land, and the rights of the Welsh 
territory or nation. 2. The Ovate, [Ovydd^) whose 
degree is acquired in right of his possessing natural 
poetic genius, or , praiseworthy knowledge, which he 
shall prove by the correctness of his answering, he 
being examined before a regular and worthy Session 
(Grorsedd) of Bards; or, where there is no such Ses- 
sion, by a lawful sitting,* [Eisteddvod,) granted by 
the subject {or clan) of the lord of the territory ; or 
by twelve of the judges of his court ; or, if this be not 
the custom, by twelve freeholders {hraivdivyr) of his 
court, who act as judges. Moreover, the knowledge 
gained by regular instruction is not to be required of 
the Ovate to entitle him to his privilege, nor any thing 
more than that his knowledge is well founded. This 
is so regulated for the maintenance of science, lest 
there should be a deficiency of regular teachers, and 
the arts and sciences depending upon memory and re- 
gular instruction, should be lost; and, also, for the 
further improvement of arts and sciences, by the addi- 



any inferior injury done to him, three cows and sixty pence. 
See " Leges WaUicce," p. 202.— Ed. Tr. 

* The Translator, by rendering f/orscdd a " session," has 
here been betrayed into a tautologous expression. Eisteddvod 
is, properly, as he translates it, "a sitting," or "session;" 
but gorsedd, as remarked on a former occasion, should have 
been rendered a " congress" or " assembly." Eisteddvod is a 
word, comparatively speaking, of mere modern use. — Ed. Tr. 



172 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

tion of every now (liscovory approved by the learned 
and the wise, and confirmed as such by them ; and, 
also, lest the advantage, arising from the powers of 
natural <:!;onius and invention, sliould be repressed. 
3. Tlic Druid Eard {I^criri/ddran^l;) who must be a 
ro<:;ularly instituted Ward of !rJossion, of degree,* and 
of approved wisdom and kno^Yledge, and of elocution 
sullicient to express what his judgment and intelligence 
dictate. This office has its privilege by a free grant 
adjudged to him by the sense of a regular court of 
the clan taken by ballot (codbren.) llis duty is to 
give moral and religious instruction in the Session of 
Bards, in the palace, in the place of Avorship, and in 
the family in which he has full privilege. Each of 
these has a just and lawful claim to five free acres in 
right of his profession, exclusive of Avhat he is entitled 
to as a Welshman by birth. For the right by profes- 
sion does not abrogate that by nature, nor the natural 
right the professional. f 



* liardd ()or.<t'd(io() (p-addcdiff are the words, and which may 
1)0 transhited " a bard reguhxrly initiated and graduated." — 
Ed. Tr. 

t The partiouhir duties of the three orders of Bnrdism, enu- 
merated in tliis Triiid, are thus simihirly described in the 
Institutional Triad of l>ardism, quoted on a former occasion: 
" The three orders of Primitive Bards : the Presiding Bard, or 
Primitive Bard Positive, according to the rights, voice, and 
usage of the Bardic Conventions, whose oflice it is to superin- 
tend and reguhvte ; the Ovate, according to poetical genius, 
exertion, and contingency, "vvhose province it is to act from tJie 
impulse of poetical inspiration ; and the Druid, according to 
the reason, nature, and necessity' of things, whose duty it is to 
instruct." See Oambuo-Bkiton, vol. ii. p. 1.01. A more diffuse 
explanation of these several functions may be seen in the in- 
troduction to Pr. Owen Piighe's Translation of Llywarch Hen, 
and at the end of jNIr. K. Williams's Lyric Poems. The three 
orders of Bards are described by some ancient writers, Greek 
and Latin, among wliom are Strabo, Diodorus, and Pliny, who 
use precisely the sanie names as tliose above given, although 
they do not exactly follow the Welsh memorials in the duties 
they appropriate to them ; but tiie mere conformity of the 
uaines is sufficient to vindicate the authenticity of the Triads, 



OF THE ANCIENT Bill TONS. 173 

72. There are tlirco ])ranc]ics of erudition [lleno- 
rideth) as to language. 1. T\v,it of interprct;ition in a 
court of law between a Welshman and a foreigner, who 
know no language in common. 2. Hkill in yxu'traying 
arms, laudable actions and marv(dlous occurrences, so 
that thv.y who see [tJia portraiture) m:iy understand its 
signilication: and such portrayer is called the Emblem 
Bard.* And, 8. The knowledge of book and letter, 
and of reading and writing the Welsh language cor- 
rectly, and keeping book-memory of the three subjects 
of the records of the ]jards of Britain ; viz., pedigrees 
of rank by marriage, descent of estates, and actions 
and information worthy of record, lie, whose occu- 
pation is that of either of these three branches of eru- 
dition, claims five free acres in right of his profession, 
exclusive of his right as a native Welshman, and is to 
attend the court of country and lord, and be obedient 
to the court, the judges, and the assessors, when court 
or session is lawlully held ; and, in remun(!ration for 
the infoi-mation they a fiord, thcsy are entitled, more- 
over, to free entertainment and presents by stipula- 
tion. 

73. There arc three principal branches of mechanic 
employment : viz., smith's work, carpenter's work, and 
mason's work, and the three are of equal privilege ; 

from ■which wo farthor ](;iirn tliat IJardism lia<l its orif^in in 
Uritaiii, and wliich accordH witli what (Jiu.sar says on tho samo 
Hubjoot, wlion he t(!lls us tlial. JJruidisni had its fuiindatioii in this 
country, from whence it was transported to (Jaul. Sec Eell. 
(jIaij.. lib. vi. c. 13. — En. Tii. 

* The orif^inal word hero is arwyddvardd, which would havo 
been more properly triinslated a " herald liard." The chief 
office of an wriin/ddrardd was, an(;ienlly, to b(iar a ila,^ ol' truco 
betw(;en ccjntending annies, and to disiiharf^o the other duties 
of ix hcrald-at^arniH, on which occasion lie wore a white, or 
Homc! other mii-colourcd dress, to denote the sanctity or inviola- 
bility of his character. Tlie name, as used in tliis Triad, ap- 
pears to li;\ve reference to a perioil wlien the original fnnctiona 
of the office were grown obsolete, and wiien the arwi/ddvardd 
was beconio a mere genealogist, or reciordcr of family pedigrees 
and other domestic memorials. — Ed. Tu. 
15 * 



174 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

and whoever is of either of those trades has a full right 
to five free acres, exclusive of his right as a native 
Welshman, and is to be at the will of the lord of the 
district to instruct the slaves of the king or the lord, or 
any of their vassals, as far as the law permits ; that 
is, under the obligation that no degree of the craft 
shall be granted to any of them but by consent of their 
lord proprietary and of the king. 

74. There are three kinds of national professions of 
the Welsh nation. 1. The cultivation of the mind ;* 
and in this respect it is the duty of the Bards of Ses- 
sion to keep record and give instruction, by their office, 
in the profession of Bardism. 2. Mechanic employ- 
ments ; and the mechanics are to preserve and improve 
their professions by the care of approved masters whose 
duty it is. 3. Family emploj^monts ; and it is the 
duty of the chiefs of clans to oblige the chiefs of family 
to see that these are taught to all the family to the 
ninth degree and rank of relationship. 

75. There are three principal branches of household 
arts :t cultivation of land ; management of the dairy ; 
and weaving. And it is the duty of the chief of the 
clan to enforce their being taught, and answer for their 
being so in court, and in place of worship, and at every 
assembly {eyrch) for worship. 

76. There are three employments of the palace : 
distribution of justice ; taking measures for the regula- 
tion and administration of the country and the law, 
and a pez-manent record of them ; and communication 
by embassage with a neighbouring country. 

77. There are three city professions : medicine, 

* This is not a literal translation of celri/ddau doetlimeb, the 
expression in the original : it means, more properly, the 
" mysteries of wisdom," which seems to be appropriately used 
with reference to the peculiar lore of the Bards, to whom the 
expression is here applied. — Ed. Tr. 

t The original words here, and which are rendered " family 
employment" in the foregoing Triad, are celvyddyd deuluaidd. 
Ed. Tk. 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 175 

merchandise, and navigation. Each of these has a 
peculiar city privilege, which privilege is by grant of 
the lord of the district, with a security of the adminis- 
tration of justice, and is distinct from the privileges 
common to country and clan, for the security of regular 
commerce protected by justice. 

78. The privileges of cities are three. 1. That citi- 
zens shall not be compelled to serve in any office except 
such as are comprised in the right and within the limits 
of their citizenship. 2. A protection which shall se- 
cure strangers or foreigners who frequent the cities for 
commerce from imposition or injury. And, 3. That 
no privileged markets shall be held except in respect- 
able cities. 

79. There are three employments of a gentleman : 
arms, horsemanship, and hunting. Neither of these 
is permitted to any but a Welshman by descent.* 

80. There are three original rights of every Briton 
by descent. 1. A freehold possession, without restric- 
tion, of five acres of land. 2. A right of determining 
the constitutional law of the country, under protection 
and in right of the chief of his clan. 3. A right to the 
benevolence of the country in general [dud cywlad), 
that is to say, that he be free to go whither he will 
without loss of privilege or verdict, unless when in 
actual service of the country or of a court of law. 
For, where he is, so he is by law bound to perform it, 
and ought not be excused. 

81. There are three persons whom every Welsh 
landholder ought to have and maintain : a wife ; a 
man at arms, if he be not so himself; and a teacher 
of his family. 

82. There are three things, no one of which can do 
well without the other two : a governor, valour, and 
legislation.")" For these three are the means of pro- 
tection, power, and a regular and firm security of 
property. 

* See note on Triad 70, ant^. — Ed. Tr. 
t Glyw, glew, a glwad. — Ed. Tr. 



176 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

83. The three advantages of a Welshman by de- 
scent: five free acres, land in expectancy, and hunt- 

84. Three things in common to the country and a 
border country : a great river, a great road, and an 
assembly for religious worship.* They are under pro- 
tection of God and his peace, "whilst no weapon is un- 
sheathed by those who frequent them, or against any 
whom they meet. If any one, whether bordererf or 
foreigner, offend in this respect, the lord of the dis- 
trict has, on complaint made, a right to inflict the 
punishment of a murderer upon him. 

85. Three persons privileged in a neighbouring 
country : a bard, a minister of religion, and a chief 
of a clan ; and to no other than one of these three is 
the privilege of embassy due. No weapon ought to 
be drawn against either of these three, whether the 
neighbouring countries be in war or peace. For un- 
less learning, religion, and political knowlege be privi- 
leged and protected, nations that are at war cannot 
be brought to be at peace, and it is therefore indis- 
pensably necessary to neighbouring countries that am- 
bassadors should be so privileged and protected, that 
they may go and return in peace and safety, when 
their mission and oflSce is by authority, for the purpose 
of concord. 

80. Three things in common to a state: war, plead- 
ings in a court of justice, and religious worship. For 
every native Welshman may be summoned to attend 
them ; and they are called the three common {or 
general) occasions of assembly.^ 

* I\Iore properly, perhaps, " a place of resort for religious 
worship." Tlie -word translated " assembly," is cyrcli. Ac- 
cording to the Triodd y Chtdan, before referred to, the resort 
of religious people to a place of worship was one of the " three 
privileged progressions or movements ;" the two others were 
the circuit of a king or elders within their dominions, and the 
assembling of bards in congress. — Ed. Tr. 

t The original word is brodor, which ought to he translated 
a "native."^ED. Tr. 

X Tri c/n/rch ctiifjiedin. — Ed. Tr, 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 177 

87. The three domestications {marks of domestica- 
tion) of a country : young children, dogs, and barn- 
door fowl. Where these three are, the place has the 
riglit of courts ,of law and place of worship, and, in 
consequence of all this right, other rights belonging to 
an inhabited country. 

88. Three persons indispensably necessary to a clan : 
the chief of the clan, its vindicator, and its representa- 
tive.'" The chief must be the oldest in the family, so 
far as the ninth degree of kindred, who is in full 
strength of body and mind ; and his right and office is 
to demand the benefit of the constitution and court 
of law in behalf of his man. Ho is also the speaker 
of the sentiments of his clan in the collected voting of 

* The word in the original is Tcishaniyle, about the real 
meaning; of which there may be some doubt. In Owen's Dic- 
tionary it is translated " the centre of a Jioinostead or repre- 
sentative of a family," the latter sense belnji; of course fij^ura- 
tivo. Wotton, in the glossary affixed to his "■Leges Wallicxti," 
makes the following remark on the word — " Crediderim," ho 
says, " 2h'sbanft/!e et militom et advocatum denotaro, ct per 
hoc patronam familiue," thus making no allusion to the origi- 
nal and literal acceptation of the torui. Tiie word is evidently 
composed of teishan, a middle space, and t.i/le, acjcording to Dr. 
Davies, the site of a house ; which would agree with the sense 
given it, in Owen's Dictionary, of " the centre of a homestead." 
Hence, most probably, it came to be metaphorically applied to 
the patron or repr(!sentative of a family, who, on certain occa- 
sions, was the central stay, upon whom the other members re- 
lied for their defence. Accordingly' the character of the Teis- 
haniyle was, by the ancient laws of Wales, invested with a 
particular dignity, if not sacredness, as the following Triads 
will testify: 

" Three cavalcades that enhance a man's privilege: to ride to 
war, to a court of law, and to church ; for he is then a family 
representative, and the punishment for killing him will bo 
greater than if ho were on his own concern." 

" These crimes, on account of which a man is to be banished 
from his patrimonial territory : the murder of bis lord, of the 
head of his family, or of the jjatron (f kin fainily, on account 
of their great atrocity." 

The originals of these two Triads may be seen in the Archai- 
ology and in Wotton. — Er>. Tr. 



178 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

the country, particular and general.* It is also the 
duty of every one of the clan to attend to him, and 
his duty to attend to every one of the clan. The vin- 
dicator of the clan leads it to the army, and to battle 
when necessary ; he also prosecutes evil-doers, brings 
them to justice, and punishes them according to the 
sentence of the court and the judgment of the country. 
The x-eprcsentative is to act for the clan in court of 
law, place of worship, in battle, and in every assem- 
bly : he must be one of the men of wisdom in his clan, 
and so acknowledged by the votes of the heads of fa- 
milies,! «ind is of equal autliority with the chief of the 
clan in all votings and legislation. His right is con- 
ferred by the consent of all his kindred,;}; to the ninth 
'degree, collected by ballot, which is called the silent 
vote. 

89. Three crimes that cause the son of the criminal 
person to forfeit his inheritance, and to fall into the 
class and unprivileged state of an alien to the ninth 
generation, or till, by a fourth man, he can obtain 
seisin by respectable marriages : killing the chief of 
the clan ; killing his lord ; and killing his representa- 
tive : because these crimes are so grievous. 

90. Three things that cause a Welshman to lose the 
right of his country and clan : removing wholly to a 
foreign country ; joining wholly with aliens who are at 
war with the Welsh nation; and wholly surrendering 
himself to an army§ of a neighbouring nation when it 
is attacking the Welsh nation : because either of these 
is treachery to his country and his lord. 

* The words are yn 7-Jiaiih ddijgijnnuU gidad a cliywlad, wliich 
appear to mean, as intimated on a preceding occasion, a general 
and extraordinary convention of the district. — Ed. Tr. 

t The word here is pcittciiliioedd, respecting which see vol. ii. 
of the Camuko-Bkitox, pp. 250 and 298 in the notes. — Ed, Tk. 

t In the ori,!j;iiial, a'i vrcijiiaw gan raith ei genedyl, which, 
literally translated, is, " and his privileges according to the de- 
cision of his clan, &c." — Ed. Tk. 

§ It should be, "to a victorious army;" the words are llu 
ffoi-thcch. — Ed. Tr. 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 179 

91. There are throe means by which a Welshman 
may recover the right of country and clan "which he 
had lost : returning wholly from a foreign country, 
under pledge and bail, continued to the degree when 
he becomes seizor ; suffering deprivation of all for the 
sake of Wales, when in a foreign country ; and wholly 
resisting a hostile army, when, by waiting with it, he 
might have obtained reward and privilege. 

92. There are three general claims to seisin of land : 
the claim of certain heirship, proved to be so by 
memory of court and place of worship ; the claim of a 
vassal, in right of his fourth man by birth ; and the 
claim of lawful purchase, by judgment of court and 
judge, when the sale is made to one who is pledged to 
the king or who is a native Welshman. 

93. There are three special claims to seisin of land :* 
the claim of a lawful heir returning from a foreign 
country, or from sojourning abroad, when, he being 
thought dead, the land was adjudged, by court and 
verdict, to another ; the claim of redemption, that is, 
when an heir general repurchases the land of his 
family, which had been sold in memory, observation, 
and hearing, of the country, the heir proving his pedi- 
gree, and depositing the redemption value in the hands 
of the judge of the court in which the claim and plea 
are discussed : in this case, the law says he ought to 
recover his land, and the judge is to pay the redemp- 
tion value to whom it is due ; and the claim of an alien, 
in right of his fourth man by descent, that is, of a 
seizor in law, by respectable marriages, M'ho is to have 
his land in absolute free possession, and with right of 

t The two species of legal claims, translated, in this and the 
preceding Triad, "general" and "special," are, in the original, 
kawl goresyyn cyfredin and hawl goresgyn waJianreddaivl, which 
appear, from t)ie context, to have the precise moaning given 
them by the translator: one referring to a man's natural or 
general right as a member of the community, and the other to 
his right under circumstances of a qualifying or particular 
nature. Hawl implies a legal process or suit, and is so fre- 
quently used in the laws of Hywel. — Ed. Tk. 



180 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

common verdict, given to him by the lord, who is king 
of the country, over court, and its judgment, and who 
shall assign it to him under limitations. 

94. Three pleas for land are to be decided by -the 
country, viz., by the verdict of three hundred men 
•when they are at issue. 1. The plea of an alien in 
right of his fourth man, by respectable marriages, 
when he claims his five free acres. 2. The plea of 
one who returns from a foreign country,* when he 
refers to proof {of Itis claim) by the hob, {or stone at 
the hack or side of the fireplace,'f) by the horseblock, 
or by the laud-mark, {or mcaring stone,) which may 
be confirmed b^'^ credible memory, observation, and 
report. 3. The plea. of redemption, that is, when the 
heir general deposits in the hands of the judge, or in 
the presence of a court of verdict and law, the redemp- 
tion-value to be paid to him who bought the land of 

* The original word is carddi/chicci, vrhich means tlie state of 
being in exile, or alienated from one's native laud, in which 
sense it is used bj Cynddelw : — 

Cynneddyv i Bowys, ban el ar dremyu 

T dervyn diogcl, 

Na bo tro trainwy gyvarchwel, 

Na bo caeth, na bo carddychwcl 

It is the custom of Powys, when it goes on the watch 
To the secure frontier. 

That there should not be once a going into disgrace, 
That there should be no slavery, no exile. 

The word seems to be used, in this Triad, in the sense, given 
it by the Translator, of returning from exile. — Ed. Tr. 

f In the Law Triads, (Arch, of AVales, vol. iii. p. 323,) this 
appeal to the fire or hob stone (pcnianraeii) is described as one 
of the " three dead testimonies" in lavour of a man's right to 
a real estate, and which were to supply the want of living 
witnesses ; and the i-eason of -which, with respect to the pen- 
ianccKii, appears in a subsequent Triad, No. 96, viz., because 
the " mark of the family" appeared on it. See, also, " Leijes 
WaUiccc," p. 302. It may be right to mention that peiitanvaen 
seems properly to mean ttie chimney-piece, on which, it is well 
known, it was formerly customary for the arms and other in- 
signia of a family to be engraved. — Ed. Tr. 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 181 

his family, with certain record of the transaction. 
Moreover, a redeemer of his property may possibly be 
one who is subject to him who bought the land of the 
seizor, and continue so till this redeemer proves his 
right of inheritance, and pays the just redemption- 
value to the possessor of the land, upon the hob, (or 
hearthstone,) or horseblock, or mearing-stone, or 
white-stone, next to the place, or into the hand of the 
judge of the commot, or on the wall before the court. 
When this is done, the country says he is to have his 
land, and the defendant the redemption-value. 

95. Three pleas that are to be decided by verdict 
and voice of the country, in order to prevent a grievous 
injustice : 1. a plea respecting recognizance, to which 
the king is party ; 2. a plea respecting land, when the 
claim is maintained or denied [by force) ; and 3, a plea 
respecting an opposition to law on the part of the king. 
In these cases the chief of the plaintiff's clan is to 
contest it in court of law and place of worsliip,* and 
this after public notice is given, and proclamation for 
a year and a day. 

9G. Three things that lead to error in law: uncer- 
tain claim; imperfect oral evidence; and irreconcil- 
able records. 

97. Three things that prevent the three preceding 
causes of error: 1. The keeping regular record of 
descent, rank, and respectable marriages, and of par- 
titions of land and the circumstances connected with 



* The Welsh word is llan, which Mr. Ptoberts, perliaps, is 
not justified in always considering as synonymous with " a 
place of worship." The word, certainly, has for some time 
had that acceptation in Wales ; but, originally, it appears to 
have meant only a yard, or enclosure, as is obscrvaljle in the 
compounds gwiaUan, a vineyard, pedlan, an orchard, and some 
others. Mr. Edward Llwyd, in his " Additions to Monmouth- 
shire," in Camden's Britannica, conjectures that it may have 
acquired the meaning of a church, or chapel, " because yards 
or enclosures might be places of worship in the time of heathen- 
ism, or upon the first planting of Christianity, when churches 
were scarce."— Ed. Tr. 

16 



182 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

them. 2. Perfect evidence, both by certain oral tes- 
timony of witnesses, and by certain record of the re- 
corder, -whether he be alive or dead. 3. By the deci- 
sion of the country, summoned by the chief of his clan, 
who brings his claim into court. Note also, that it was 
in order to prevent uncertainty of claim, that it was 
particularly regulated and enjoined as their duty, that 
the bards of session, privileged in degree, should keep 
record of descent, and rank, and of partition of land ; 
and, for the same reason, of any one who removes the 
hob, the measuring stones, or boundary stones, Avithout 
the knowledge of court and judges. 

98. Three things that are unconscionable in leo;al 
processes : to determine a case finally before the truth 
be minutely inquired into ; to decide contrary to the 
inevitable nature and tendency of times and circum- 
stances ; and to compel a man to that which is preju- 
dicial to him, when neither law nor justice agrees with 
the sentence by which he is compelled. 

99. Three things that preserve record of land and 
family, and are of force as witnesses : the hob {pentan- 
vaen) ;* the stones of a limekiln ; and the horseblock : 
because the mark of the family is to be on them ; and 
an indictment for theft lies against him who shall re- 
move either without permission of the lord of the dis- 
trict, confirmed by court and law. For these are sure 
evidence, and it is a capital crime in any one to de- 
sti'oy a sure evidence. 

100. There are three other stones, for the removal 
of which an indictment of theft will lie : a boundary 
Btone ;t the Avhite stone of the place of session ;| and 



* For a note on penianvaen see the last page, where perhaps, 
however, " chimney-stone" would have been a more correct ex- 
pression than " chimney-piece." — Ed. Tr. 

t This ^eems to agree with the Jewish law. See Dent, xxvii. 
17.— Ed. Tr. 

% Maen gtcyn gorsedd. Perhaps this has reference to the 
central stone, around which the ojlch cyngrair, or circle of fede- 
ration, was formed at the bardic congresses. But it should also 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 183 

the stone of expectancy.* The removal of either is a 
capital crime. 

101. Three things that no one is to do without 
permission of the lord of tlie district: to build on land 
in expectancy ; to plough land in expectancy ; and to 
destroy the wood of land in expectancy : and an in- 
dictment for them lies against him who does either. 
For all land lying waste, or in expectancy, belongs in 
common to country and clan, and no portion, great or 
small, of such lands, can justly be made private pro- 
perty. 

102. Three things that are free to every man, 
whether native or stranger, and the law will not jus^ 
tify a refusal of them : water from a well, brook, or 
river ; firing from a hollow tree ; and a block of stone 
which is not in use. 

103. Three things that are not to be taken to a 
foreign country without permission of country and 
lord : gold,f books, and wheat. 



be observed, that the stones which formed the circle, were also 
called meini gwynion, or white stones, a circumstance which 
makes the meaning of the term here used somewhat ambiguous. 
Ed. Tr. 

* The original term is niaen gohaitli, which is, literally, "the 
stone of hope," and applies to the signal or directing stones, 
which were placed on mountains and other desolate tracts, for 
the purpose of guiding a traveller on his journey, similar to the 
direction posts now used for the same purpose. — Ed. Tr. 

f It would appear from this Triad that gold was anciently 
the produce of this island ; and there certainly are some cir- 
cumstances which give great probability to the presumption. 
Our earliest poets, particulai'ly Aneurin and Llywarch Hen, 
make frequent allusion to the golden torques, as worn by the 
British chieftains of that age ; and it is well known that some 
gold coins of Cynvelj'n or Cunobelinus, who lived five centuries 
earlier, have been discovered. Ccesar, indeed, states that the 
ancient Lritons made use only of brass money and iron rings ; 
but 1'acitus, whose means of information, through Agricola, 
must have been much more perfect, expressly informs us that 
both gold and silver were found here. His words are — " Fert 
Britannia auruni, at argentum, et alia metalla." — Vita Agric. c. 
12. This seems to place the matter beyond a doubt, or, at least, 



184 TRIADS OF TUE SOCIAL STATE 

104. Three things that arc not be sold by an alien 
without permission of his lord proprietary, lest his lord 
should [desire to) buy them : viz. -wheat, honey, and 
horses. If the lord will not buy them, he may sell 
them Avhere he ■will, so that it be not to go to a foreign 
country. 

105. Three things that pay mulct for murder* and 
receive no share of such mulct : a -woman, a scholar, 
and one who does not pay the speai'-penny.'j" 



gives additional -weight to the many notices respecting this pre- 
cious motul tluit occur in our old writings. — Ed. Tr. 

* Tlio word is /;(^/(^i(^^^ which siguiiies, in a lirst sense, mur- 
der, and is used in the Welsh laws as a satisfaction for murder. 
See " Lc'ifcs ]rallica'," pp. 188, i1:c. 203, &c. The satisfaction 
varied according to the rank or degree of the person murdered: 
for the nuirder of a native born gentleman it was, as mentioned 
in a former Triad, sixty-three cows. Wlierothis compensation 
was divided amongst a fanvily, the share of a brother Avas a 
pound, that of a cousin six score pence, that of a third cousin 
thirty pence, that of a fourth cousin lifteen ]ienee, that of one in 
the iiftli degree seven pence halfpenny. This custom of satis- 
fying a whole family for the murder of one of its members was 
common to the ancient Germans, of whom Tacitus says — 
" liuitur homicidium certo armentorum ac pecorum numero, 
recipitque satisfactionem iniicersa doinusi." From the Germans 
the practice came to their descendants, tlie Anglo-Saxons ; and 
it has hence been inferred that it was borrowed from them by 
the Welsh. But it is not improbable that a similar custom pre- 
vailed among most nations in an early state of society. — Ed. 
Tr. 

t Mr. Roberts, in a short note on this word, conjectures that 
" the spear-penny must have been sacred." The meaning of 
this conjecture is not very obvious ; but the fact seems to be, 
that the " spear-penny" {ceiniairt/ bahuh/r) was generally pay- 
able, as a fine for homicide, by such males of the murderer's 
family as were capable of bearing arms, whence the name was 
derived. To this, however, there were seven exceptions, that 
is to say, from the brother to the sixth collateral degree of kin- 
dred inclusive. See " Leges IVaUico'" p. 193. The persons 
included within these exceptions are, therefore, those to whom 
this Triad has reference ; althougli it appears, from the prece- 
ding note, that they were, in certain cases, entitled to a share 
of the fine. A divine was also exempt from the payment of tho 
spear-peuny. — Ed. Tr. 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 185 

106. Three persons that ought to be kept from 
offensive weapons : a slave, a child under fourteen 
years of ago, and an insane person, proclaimed such 
on the posts of country and lord.* 

107. Three persons that arc not to be compelled to 
bear arms : a bard of session, a scholar of court and 
place of worship, and a judge. And this because their 
station and office cannot be dispensed with : and, also, 
because no weapon ought to be in the hand of him 
who, by his profession and religious knowledge, is to 
act in right of God and his peace, and by his office ac- 
cording to the need of country and clan. 

108. There are three who, when together in pre- 
sence of the king or the lord of a court, confer the 
right of a court of justice on the house, or any other 
place Avhere they are so : viz., the judge of the palace,t 
the priest of the palace, and the regent [or lieutenant 
of the king). Wheresoever these three are together, 
though the king be not present, the place has the right 
(or power) of a court of justice. 

109. Three of whom the law takes no co2;nizance : 
one who is drunk, one not fourteen years of age, and 
one who, against his will, is compelled to act contrary 
to law. 

110. There are three who cannot be indicted singly 
and solely on a plaint : a wife without her husband, a 
child under fourteen years of age without the father, 
and a vassal without his lord proprietary. 

111. There are three Avhose word is no word (is of 
no credit), in anything whatsoever : a minister of re- 
ligion Avho has broken his covenant, a witness who has 
been found to swear falsely, by his pledge of truth, in 
court, or any other place, and a notorious habitual 
thief. 



* See Triad 25, p. 100, ante.— Ed. Tr. 

t For the provisions of the Laws of Ilywcl, respecting the 
Judge of the Pahace, Vgnad or Brawdwr Llys,) see " Leges 
WalUcce," p. 8, and Cambro-Briton, vol. ii. p. 302. — Ed. Tr. 

16* 



186 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

112. Three persons that cannot be insulted : a 
leper, a natural fool, and an alien not married to a 
native Welshwoman. But still there is a value set 
upon each of them by law, and whoever injures either 
of them in person or property is liable to a fine. 

113. Three names that are given to him who gives 
public notice to tlie country : bad news [garivgy- 
chwedyl), cry of tlie country [gtvaedd gwlad), and 
summoner [rhingyW'), and he must have free way, 
whether on a road or oflf it, by day and by night, where- 
soever he goes in his official duty, Avhilst his horn, 
bearing the mark of the lord of the district, is in his 
hand. 

114. There are three prohibitions of the unsheathing 
of offensive weapons, or holding them in the hand. 1. In 
an assembly of worship, as it is held in right of the 
Bards of Britain, and under the protection of God and 
his peace. 2. In a session of the country, [as being) 
court of country and lord. 3. The arms of a guest 
where he remains, the place being under the protection 
of God and the king. 

115. There are three kinds of men [in the special 
sense of the term). 1. An alien horn, that is, one who 
is by general descent a foreigner, as also his son and 
grandson, the mothers of each being foreigners. . 2. A 
settler in right of his mother, or one whose mother 
is a native Welshwoman ; for which reason he is so 
called. 3. Members of the community {brqdorion\ 
that is, Welshmen by successive descent, in which 
there is no bondslave, no foreigner, no half-blood. 
Moreover, a settler in right of his mother shall, by his 

* According to another copy, the triad is thus : — The three 
names of an apparitor [rldnyijU) : the cry of a country, the 
chancellor's terrible talc-bearor, and the apparitor." Rhingyll 
was the name of one of the officers of the roj^al household, 
under the Princes of Wales ; and an account of his privileges 
may be seen in the Cajibro-Briton, vol. ii. p. 398. He filled 
the situation of a summoning officer or tipstaff, in which senso 
the word is still used in Caormarthenshire. — Ed. Tr. 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 187 

fourth man, obtain the station of member of the com- 
munity, in like manner, as a native Welshman. 

116. The sons of three women inherit by law in 
right of their mother. 1. The son of a woman who is 
given in marriage to a foreigner, with the consent of 
her family. 2. The son of a woman sent as a hostage to 
a country of another language, if she prove with child 
there. 3. The son of a woman ravished by an alien. 
The sons of these women shall inherit in the right of 
their mothers, and their possession of the inheritance 
shall not be deferred to the ninth generation, as to any 
such son. 

117. There are three wardships of land : a lord 
shall keep the land which falls to him by the death of 
an owner whose heirs are unknown, until it is claimed 
by the right heir ; the land of a native Welshman who 
has lost his land and right till the ninth generation ; 
the land of a child under age, till he becomes of age to 
take seisin of it. 

118. The three denials of imputed (or adopted) 
children :* by the oath of the {reputed or adojjting) 
father ; if such father be dead, the chief of the clan 
shall receive or reject such son, upon the oath of seven 
of the clan ; in absence of the chief of the clan, the 
oath of fifty of the clan shall reject such son. An 
imputed {or adopted) son is rejected {exclusively or 
absolutely) ; the son of a settler, f or a bond-slave, is 
tried in court {as to his claim) till his fourth man, or 
seizor in the ninth generation. 

119. Three things that bar the rejection of a son 
by a clan : if the son be born in lawful bed, and reared 
for a year and a day without denial {of his legitimacy) ; 
if his nursing shall have been paid for, though he be 

* The original word is cyssicynhlant, which means, literally, 
" children of attachment," and, in a legal sense, reputed chil- 
dren, or bastards. — Ed. Tr. 

f Mah aillt, is the Welsh term, which is not correctly trans- 
lated by " son of a settler." See the reference in a former 
note, p. 111. — Ed. Tr. 



188 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

the son of an harlot ; or if he be acknowledged by 
proclamation. After either of these three things is 
done, the father cannot deny him. 

120. There are three ways of acknowledging a son : 
the father may on his own oath acknowledge or deny 
him {so to be) ; if the father be dead, the chief of the 
clan, in conjunction with seven sworn men of the clan, 
may acknowledge or deny him ; if there be no chief of 
the clan, one and twenty men of the clan may acknow- 
ledge or reject him, viz., seven in lieu of the father, 
seven in lieu of the chief of the elan, and seven with 
the chief. On this occasion a solemn positive asser- 
tion, on oath, is not required, but merely their con- 
scientious decision, according to the best of their 
judgment. The form of the acknowledgment is this: 
the chief of the clan takes, with his right hand, the 
right hand of the person to be acknowledged, and puts 
it in the hand of the eldest of the seven men, and it is 
thus passed from eldest to next eldest to that of the 
seventh. Moreover, there is neither preference nor 
exception as to these men, farther than that they be 
elders of the clan, and that they are under no obliga- 
tion of sharing land with him. The forms of acknow- 
ledging and denying proceed in like manner. 

121. Three Avays of re-admitting an exile: a father 
on his oath, provided that such father be a Welsh 
citizen by descent ; a chief of clan, upon the joint 
oaths of himself and seven others ; and on the con- 
scientious afiirmation upon oath of fifty men of the 
clan, according to the best of their judgment. After 
this he shall have his citizenship. 

122. The three oaths in bar : the oath of the chief, 
and seven elders of the same clan ; the oath of twenty- . 
one elders of the same clan ; and the oath of the coun- 
try, which is that of fifty yeomen. When the first 
cannot be had, the second is requisite; and, if the 
second cannot be had, the third must. 

123. Three cases in which the oath of an individual 
is valid in his OAvn cause : that of a woman for a rape ; 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 189 

of a man for an unnatural attempt, and of a father in 
acknowledging or rejecting a son by birth or adoption,* 
124. There are three kinds of heirs: a son by 
marriage with a native by descent ; a natural son, 
acknowledged upon oath by the father, for the sake 
of having heirs (but it is to be noted that a son, taken 
as such on the oath of the father, cannot claim rank ;f 
and an adopted son who is of the clan, when there is 
neither a legitimate nor natural son. 

.125. Three women that pay no marriage-fee : the 
daughter of a king, or lord of the soil ; the daughter 
of the heir apparent to the throne ; and the daughter 
of the chief of a clan. 

126. There are three royal authorities : the prince 
eldest in descent, as sovereign paramount, the lord 
of a country palatine, who is king in his own court ; 
and the chief of a clan in governing and defending 
the rights of his clan and relations. Each of these 
royal authorities has the right of cyfraw gwlad ; that 
is to say, of appealing to the decision of the country, 
where justice, according to law, cannot be otherwise 
obtained. I 

127. The three plagues of a clan : rearing the son 
of the lord, introducing a son wrongfully into a clan, 
and the guardianship of the head of the state. § 

* In the first two cases the English law agrees with the an- 
cient Welsh law, but not in the third. — Ed. Tr. 

t The original words are — sev, ni saiv hmvl a dadl ar vonedd 
cysswyiivab a gymmerawr ar Iw tad. — Ed. Tr. 

X Upon the word cyfraw see a former note, p. 160. The 
words here rendered " appealing to the decision of the coun- 
try," are Ihiniaeihu rlmith ; and, if the translation be correct, 
the meaning of cyfraw, as here used, is obvious, though it 
cannot have had that signification on the former occasion. — 
Ed. Tr. 

I The latter part of this Triad is not translated with suffi- 
cient accuracy. Givurchadiv 2)enrhaii}i, the words in the origi- 
nal, do not mean strictly, " the guardianship of the head of the 
state. '^ Fenrhaitk, according to the Laws of Ilywel, meant 
"a chief claimant, or juror," who was bound to produce his 
twelve compurgators before he could establish his claim : after 



190 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

128. Three things disgraceful to a man : felony, 
being ruled by his wife, and breaking the protection 
he had given. 

129. Three things disgraceful to a king : breaking 
his protection, felony committed in his presence, and 
being ruled by his wife.* 

130. The three duties of the clerk or secretary of 
the court : to take down the pleading in writing till 
the termination of the suit, to obliterate what was 
written when the suit is terminated, and to attend the 
lord of the court and his judges, in discharge of his 
office, at their pleasure. 

131. The three commoners of a clan ; the chief of 
the clan, the family representatives,t and the son of a 
woman, who, with consent of the clan, is given in 
mai'riage to a foreigner. That is to say, each of these 

this, he first made oath to the fact he wished to establish, and 
in which his compurgators, [rlieithiwyr,) relying on his veracity, 
afterwards joined him. When the penrhaith, however, was un- 
able to produce his compurgators, he was to continue, in the 
meantime, in the custody of his family or clan ; and hence the 
circumstance was numbered among the " three plagues of a 
clan." See ''Leges WalUcce," pp. 385 and 580. — Ed. Tr. 

* Neither this Triad, nor the one immediately preceding it, 
is rendered strictly according to the original. Instead of 
" three things disgraceful," it ought to be " three legal in- 
juries," which is the sense of saraad. The word also occurs 
frequently in the Laws of Hywel, as the " fine or compensa- 
tion" for such an injury. See Cambro-Briton, vol. iii. p. 324, 
and "Leges Walliccc," passim. But the most singular error in 
the version of these two Triads is that in the last line of both, 
where hod gan ei wraig is translated " being ruled by his wife." 
The sense, undoubtedly, is " that of some one else having 
criminal intercourse with his wife," or, in other words, cuckol- 
dom, which might well be ranked as an " injury ;" but it would 
be difficult to show in what way the voluntary submission of 
the husband to petticoat dominion could be so accounted. 
The construction now olfered gives a consistency to the Triad, 
which it obviously wants at present, and, moreover, agrees ex- 
pressly with the Laws of Hywel. See Cambro-Briton, vol. ii. 
p. 251.— Ed. Tr. 

t TeishanUih : for some remarks on which see a preceding 
note, p. 177. — Ed. Tr. 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 191 

three shall have the free privilege of the arable land 
of the clan,* the chief of the clan in right of his pre- 
eminence, the family representative, in right of his 
office and station, and the son, in right of his mother's 
relationship, 

132. Three hearths {the oumers of tvhich) are to 
vindicate from the oppression of a lord : the father's, 
the oldest brother's, and that of the father-in-law. f 

133. The three peculiar rights of the chief of clan : 
to imprison, to plead for the defendant against oppres- 
sion, and to protect 'one adopted into the clan from 
injury, and imposition of burden not justified by law 
and conscience. 

134. The three (called or considered as) parents : 
the father, the grandfather, and the great grandfather. 

135. The three co-heirs of a man : a brother, a first 
cousin, and a second cousin. | 

136. Three that are to suffer death, without redemp- 
tion by money : a traitor to his country and clan, an 
assa,ssin, and one convicted of having stolen to above 
the value of four byzants {besa7its).^ 

137. Three thieves that shall not suffer capital 
punishment : a woman who joins her husband in a 
theft, a youth under age, and a necessitous person, 
who has gone through three towns, and to nine houses 
in each town, without being able to obtain a gift, 
though he had asked for it.|| 

* It appears from this explanation that Tri cyffredin cenedyl, 
translated "the three commoners of the clan/' might have 
been more accurately rendered, " the three common proprie- 
tors, &c." — Ed. Tr. 

f The three persons here named were, most probably, to 
stand forward, on any emero-ency, as the protectors of their 
family from any invasion of their privileges by the lord of the 
district. — Ed. Tr. 

t See " Leges WalUcce," p. 23G. — Ed. Tr. 

I The original word ia hygant, of the precise meaning of 
which we are ignorant. In another copy of this Triad the 
word is ceiniawg. See p. 99, supra, in the notes. — Ed. Tr. 

II AVith the first two cases specified in this Triad the provi- 



192 TRIADS OP THE SOCIAL STATE 

138. Three tliieves that ai-e punished by amerce- 
ment : he who steals a dog, he who steals herbs from 
a garden, and he who steals a wild animal from the 
land of a fortified town.* 

139. Theft is of three kinds : taking by theft, re- 
taining what is stolen, and killing an animal that is3 
stolen. Each of these subjects the offender to capital 
punishment, t and he cannot be redeemed by money. 

140. There are three thefts redeemable by fine : 
theft by deception, theft by short weight or measure, 
and theft by concealing defects. These are redeem- 
able by thrice the value. | 

141. Three things that appertain to every man per- 
sonally :§ inheritance, right, and kind. Inheritance 
is according to the right {to it); and the right accord- 
ing to the kind ; and kind is whether male or female, 
native or foreigner, young or old. 

142. Three things free to a clan, and persons 
adopted into it in right of their mothers : wood, for 
building, from an unenclosed forest ; hunting in un- 
enclosed country, and gathering acorns in unenclosed 
country. 1 1 

143. There are three principal speakers^ in a court 

sions of the English law coincide : the last, however, seems to 
form a singular exception to the laws of most countries ; yet it 
is difficult to say that it is founded in any degree of injustice. 
In the Law Triads {'^ Leges WaUicce," p. 359), a person who 
steals poultry is substituted for a youth under age. — Ed. Tr. 

* The Welsh -word is diiiUan. — Ed. Tr. 

t The word here is eneidvaddeu, upon which see a note, 
p. 99, supra.— F.D. Tr. 

X For the Laws of Hywel, relating to the various descrip- 
tions of theft, see " Leges WaUicce," pp. 222-223.— Ed. Tr. 

I The Welsh word which requires, in English, this periphras- 
tical version, is priodolder, which Wotton translates " plena 
proprietas," and which he describes as that species of posses- 
sion which devolved upon the fourth man {jKdwarygicr), or 
proprietary, who has been before alluded to in the course of 
these Triads. — Ed. Tr. 

II This is somewhat similar to Triad 49, before translated. 
—Ed. Tr. 

^ The Welsh word here is tavodogion, or tongued ones, which 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 193 

of law : the lord, the assessor [juryman), and the 
bail. 

144. There are-, also, three who speak before the 
court: the pleader, the witness, and the crier of the 
court. 

145. Three are silent in court : the lord hearing 
the judge and assessors [or jury), the judge and asses- 
sors hearing the plaintiff and defendant, and all of 
them hearing the witnesses till these are silent of their 
own accord: for the law says that a witness is not to 
be silenced lest the truth should be suppressed. 

146. There are three means of law [ivherehy it acts) : 
the lord to confirm justice, the bail or pledge to secure 
regularity, and the just judge or assessor, to make that 
which is true {or just) evident. 

147. Three persons who ruin country and clan : a de- 
ceitful lord, an unjust judge, and a suborned witness.* 

148. Three persons that shall suffer spoliation: he 
who will not abide by the decision of law, he who will 
not appear in the court of law, and he who kills one 
of bis own country. That is to say, they shall suffer 
an attack of spoliation [cyrch anrhaith), whereby all 
their original property, that can be found, shall be 



implies, in the Laws of Hywel, either advocates or witnesses, 
and -which Wotton translates, literally, "linguati." According 
to the Laws of Hywel there were nine witnesses {iavodogion), 
who were to be credited on their single and unsupported testi- 
mony. 1. A lord between two of his vassals. 2, An abbot 
between two of his monks. 3. A father between two of his 
sons. 4. A judge concerning his own judgment. 5. A bail 
concerning his suretyship. 6. A giver respecting his gift. 
7. A maiden as affecting her virginity. 8. A herdsman of the 
hamlet regarding his flock. And, 9. A thief on the scaffold, in 
respect to his associates in the theft. See " Leges Wallicce," 
p. 92, &c. It would appear, then, from this, that "witnesses" 
would have been a more accurate translation of iavodogion, as 
used in this Triad, than the word above adopted, and especially 
when it is compared with Triad 145, immediately following. — 
Ed. Tr. 

* More properly, perhaps, "accuser," or "prosecutor-." the 
word is cyhvddtvr. — -Ed. Tr. 

17 



194 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

seized, without appraisement or oath concerning them, 
and, if any be killed, it is a capital crime.* 

149. Three objects of detestation to their clan by 
proclamation : he vho kills one of his own clan, a 
thief, and a swindler. And they are so called, be- 
cause the avenger of the clan may of right proclaim 
them by public cry in court, in the place of worship, 
and in every regular assembly, and publish it on the 
king's posts.f 

150. The three reasons for making laws : to teach 
men to avoid Avhat is unlawful ; to prevent what is 
unlawfully attempted ; and to punish unlawful acts, 
according to their culpability, and the demands of 
justice. 

151. The three excellencies of the law : to prevent 
oppression ; to punish evil deeds ; and to assure a just 
retribution for what is unlawfully done ; and thus to 
maintain justice and peace in general, in country and 
clan, by means of these three. 

152. The three honourable derivations of law : 
1. From custom of country and clan from time im- 
memorial. 2. From regulations of country, clan, and 
lord, in general paramount assembly. 3. From justice 
according to reason, circumstances, and necessity ; or, 
as other wise persons express it, according to the evi- 
dence of truth, the nature of the circumstances, and 
the dictates of conscience. 



* In the Laws of Hywel, the three persons, subject to thia 
legal spoliation, are somewhat diifercntly mentioned. They 
are, " a person who ■will not abide by the decision of the law, 
in the presence of the king, a house-burner {th^inawr). and one 
who kills his fellow-countryman." " Leges WalUcce," p. 327. 
The expression at the close of this Triad has reference, of 
course, to any resistance that might be made to the execution 
of this legal process. — Ed. Tr. 

t See a-preceding Triad, p. 100, for .some account of the par- 
ticular mode of publication here spoken of. Can the " avenger 
of the clan," here alluded to, have had any afiSnity with the 
"avenger" known to the Jewish law? See Xumb. c. xssv. v. 
12 and 19.— Ed. Tr. 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 195 

153. The three kinds of justice in law : justice as 
it depends on truth, on knowledge, and on conscience.* 
And, unless these three concur entirely, law does not 
deserve its name. Truth is the root of judgment ; 
conscience is the root of discrimination ; and knoAV- 
ledge is the root of guidance and conduct [of a cause) 
to its conclusion, by means of plaintiif, defendant, 
pleadings, and witnesses. 

154. The three pillars of the advocation of a suit in 
law : participation in a fine, in theft, and in arson : 
and the participation in either admits of nine degrees. f 

155. The three pillars of the laAv : prescription or 
custom from time immemorial ; the king by legal 
authority ; and the decision of the country, in regular 
assembly, where neither prescription nor law have de- 
cided. 

156. Three things that cannot be annulled or 
altered, except by decision of the paramount general 
session of country and clan, summoned by the head 
of the government : 1. A law established by the 
sovereign. 2. Immemorial prescription, against or 
concerning which no exception can be proved but that 
it militates against justice. 3. An agreement con- 
fessed by both parties- 

157. There are three inevitable infractions of law, 
(viz. : for which the only plea is that they tvere inevi- 
table): infraction of a covenant confirmed by wit- 



* Literally, merely "truth, knowledge, and conscience." — 
Ed. Tr. 

t This Triad is not very intelligible either in tlie translation 
or in the original, -which is as follows: — Tair colovn cyngJiaivs : 
imw ajaith galanas ; naw afaiUi lledrad; a naw aJuHh tan. 
The "nine participations in murder," [iiaiv afaiih galanas,) 
here mis-translated "nine participations in a hne," are parti- 
cularly described in the ''Leges JfaWicct," p. 188; but their 
peculiar applicability here does not appear very obvious. It 
ia not improbable, therefore, that there lias been some error in 
the transcript of this Triad, which ought, perhaps, to have been, 
" Tri cynhaioawg cyvraith, &c. See " Leges WalUccv," p. 314. 
Ed. Tr." 



196 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

nesses ; infraction of a custom from time immemo- 
rial ; and infraction of a law by inevitable necessity. 

158. There are three lawful infractions of a cove- 
nant : 1. When the lord is obliged to decide, the 
court being unable ever to come to a conclusion on the 
cause. 2. When illness prevents the performance. 
3. Inevitable necessity. 

150. In three cases the court and judges cannot 
proceed farther on that which has been determined, 
(or has no power of revision): 1. When a just pur- 
chase of land, according to the common law of the 
society, has been made. 2. When a lord acts betw;een 
the parties in defiance of equity. 3. When there has 
been a long sufferance {_yiot agreeable to the law) on the 
part of the country. In these cases, the session of 
general assembly alone can take farther cognizance.* 

160. Three things that establish a custom : its ten- 
dency to civilization ; its beneficial eflicacy to country 
and clan; and its authority derived from long dura- 
tion and appeal to it, and when it is such, it is para- 
mount to law by statute. 

161. The three primary reasons for taking the voice 
of the country : to enact or repeal a law ; to decide 
Avhere, because, from defect in the law, accidental cir- 
cumstance, or necessity, it cannot otherwise be done ; 
and the right of country and clan to guard the law from 
infraction, by imposing (pe7ialties o)i) the offender. 

162. The three [kinds of) voice-men (i-o^tvs) of a clan tf 
the chief of a clan; the seven chiefs, who are his coadju- 
tors; and the family representative, that is to say, one 
of the family who is elected to the station because 
of his wisdom and learninsi; : and this election is to 



* The words, in the ovi<z;inal, of this hxst clause five sev giclad 
a chenedy] hciiOalaiir i/n rhuitli ddi/(/i/>uatll a Oiau baniii, ac 7iid 
ann/en. For observations on the meaning of peubahidr and 
rhaith ddi/tji/iDtitU see the notes on the former Triads. — Ed.Tr. 

t Tiie AVelbh exjnostion is 2'ri yu\i/r r/iailh cenedi/l. — Ed. Tr. 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 197 

be by ballot, or silent vote of all the members of the 
family.* 

103. Three things that make a man worthy of being 
chief of a clan : that, if he speak to his relation, he bo 
listened to ; that he will cowtcml {literally , fijjht) \i\t\\ 
his relation, and be feared by him ; and that, if ho 
offer security, it will be accepted. 

164. Three indispensable requisites to a voter :"}" 
1. That he be a Welshman by descent, without default as 
to descent, total or partial in his pedigree. 2. That 
he be a competent man, {of perfect use of his natural 
pozvers). 3. That he be the master of a family, that 
is, lawfully married, and having children by marriage. 
For that, without these, there is no family in the un- 
derstanding of the law, and that, for their sake, a 
man, who is master of a family, will avoid anything 
prejudicial to the rights or ties of society. J 

165. Three things indispensably requisite to a chief 
of clan. 1. That he have perfect use of his natural 
powers. 2. That he be the eldest of those who have 
that use of them in his clan to the ninth degree of 
relationship. 3. That he be master of a family, hav- 
ing a wife and children by Avorthy marriagc.§ Then, 
every other man of the elan shall be his man and his 
relation, and his word shall prevail over the word of 
every one else of his clan. 

* The original word, here rendered " family representative," 
is teisbanti/le, for some remarks on wliich see a note ou p. 177, 
supra. — Ed. Tr. 

f Tiie Welsh term is ffwr rhaitli, more properly, perhaps, " a 
freeholder." — Ed. Tr. 

X The laist limb of the sentence in this place is rather freely, 
if not loosely, translated. TIk; orignal words are sev ni wna tor yn 
anmraint ac yn anmrawd a vo pcrchcn teulu, canys erddynt ev a 
iv/ia gydwyhod, Avhich may, perhaps, be thus rendered, literally, 
"since a inan, who is the master of a fixmily, will not act 
against right or justice, because, for the sake of his family, he 
will do what is conscientious." — Ed. Tr. 

§The expression, always rendered by Mr. Roberts, "worthy 
marriage," is priodas tcilwng, which may possibly imply " a 
legal or proper marriage," or, as is said in English, " lawful 
wedlock." — Ed. Tr. 
17* 



198 TRIADS or THE SOCIAL STATE 

166. Three things are requisite to a family-repre- 
sentative : that he be a Welshman by descent, with 
perfect natural powers; that he be a man of acknow- 
ledged wisdom, genius, and skill, in the honourable 
sciences of the country ; and that he be master of a 
family by worthy marriage, having a wife and children. 
Also, he shall be elected by silent vote of the wise men 
of the clan, and be privileged in the protection and 
privilege of the chief of his clan ; and shall act for, 
and in behalf of, the clan, as its man in court and place 
of Avorship ;* and as man of chief opinion because of 
his wisdom and knowledge ; and as its man, far and 
near, in the business and concerns of the clan ; and 
shall have a right to a free claim of the spear {pcnnt/'\) 
from each of his clan, in like manner as the chief; 
and in every assembly of the clan he shall be its in- 
structor and adviser, and have an equal plough-land 
to his. I 

167. The three reasons for the institution of the 
family-representative. 1. To provide for occasions 
when the chief of clan cannot act. 2. To provide for 
a wise instruction of the clan. 3. To rescue from 
failure the wisdom of clan and country, and in general 
and particular, by appointing the most Avise of the clans 
of the Cymry to be men of court and judgment in the 
general session of Cymru paramount ; and, also, in ses- 
sion general of the lord of district, and his people ; 

* The Welsh -vyords arc yn wr Uys a Uan. For a note on the 
last word, see p. 181. — Ed. Tr. 

t It does not appear that the sense perfectly Avarrauts this 
parenthetical explanation. Tlie original expression is, a bralnt 
iddo drwijdded ^udadyr o'i gcnedijl ya vn a'r pcncenedt/I, which 
seems to mean, that he had equally a right to the protection 
(by spears) of his family Avith the chief of the clan. AVith re- 
spect to the spare-penny, see p. 122. — Ed. Tr. 

X From this and following Triad it is evident, that Ave were 
fully justified in regarding the icishantyle as " the central stay 
of his family," and that, therefore, the etymological explanation 
of the name, which we have already offered, (see p. 177,) is very 
likely to be correct. — Ed. Tr. 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 199 

and in every special decision by vote of country and 
clan, ■which could not be, were not the wise men thus 
privileged. Moreover, the wise men are not subject to 
precept or service for land ; neither should there be 
an assembly without their being present, because the 
opinion of the wise is the best, and there is no certainty 
of the wisdom of the chief of clan ; wherefore, every 
clan has, of necessity and of right, its family -represen- 
tative. 

168. Three things that make a complete man. 1. His 
bodily senses [powers) are to be wholly sound and per- 
fect, the chief whereof are hearing, sight, and motion ; 
for, the law says, the three co-equivalents of the body 
are hearing, sight, and motion. 2. Acuteness of 
thought, and intelligence in reasoning, and adorning 
discourse. 3. Fortitude. These three make a man 
completely fit to superintend the mind and the national 
sciences, warranted as being such by a teacher, or by 
proof, or by the silent vote of fifty Cymry by descent 
of his own clan. 

169. The three ways of enacting and confirming 
those laAvs which are obligatory on the country in 
general. 1. By a general session of Cymru para- 
mount ;* that is, a general assembly of the heads of 
clans, and families,! and freeholders, from all the dis- 
tricts, territories, kingdoms, and religious departments^ 
of the Cymry. For {the name of) Cymru paramount 
denotes but one country, one nation. And this session 

* Gorsedd ddygynnvll Cymru henhdladr, -with respect to M'hich 
see a note in p. 156, niiprd, and the references there given. 
Fcnhaladr appears to have here a different meaning from that 
alluded to in a preceding note, yi. 16o. — Ed. Tr. 

t This ought to be " family-representatives," teishantyleodd. — • 
Ed. Tr. 

X The only term in the original, at all synonymous with " re- 
ligious departments," is corvcnau, which, however, is question- 
able in that sense. If the word be, as appears probable, a 
compound of cor and. Jrte?i, it may, with reference to this Triad, 
imply an extensive district or " circle," as the latter word is 
used on the Continent. — Ed. Tr. 



200 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

shall enact, abrogate, or amend laws, according as oc- 
casion shall require, by concurrent opinion, judgment, 
and assent of the assembly. 2. The second way is by 
prerogative of a confederate assembly of a country and 
district ; that is to say, Avhen the court of the govern- 
ment of a country, or the territory of a country, find 
the enaction of a new law, or the amendment or abro- 
gation of a laAV, to be necessary, and notice of it shall 
bo given, by proclamation, to all the courts within the 
territories of Cymru paramount, in order that such law 
may be enacted, amended, or abrogated, as it shall, by 
common vote and common decision, be deemed requi- 
site. Thus the process shall be carried on through all 
the courts and clans, till their decision be known, and 
their common decision be obtained, without opposition 
and without dissent. When this shall have been ob- 
tained, the courts and sessions shall be advertised, by 
proclamation, for three years, of the decision obtained ; 
and, at the end of the three years, the confederate 
assembly shall meet, and its decision in assembly is 
called (that of) session confederate of full power, [gor- 
sedd gyvallwy,) and shall be published through all the 
government and territories, and be of equal force with 
the decision of the general session of Cymru para- 
mount, o. The third way of enacting or abrogating a 
law, by the full authority of country and clan, is by 
provisional proclamation and advertisement of it, until 
there be a confederate assembly ; that is to say, that, 
Avhatever be the intention as to a law, it is necessary, 
in order to ratify such intention, that it be publicly 
proclaimed for one year and a day, by cry of country 
and district, in every court and place of worship, every 
fair and market, and every other regular meeting of 
country and district, until the decision of every court, 
country, and district be obtained, together with such 
amendments or corrections as may be approved of by 
country and district, and that there be no farther oppo- 
sition : and, Avhen this is known, it is again to be pro- 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 201 

claimed, as before, for one year and a day, till the 
decision be perfect, the proclamation continuing in all 
for the space of three years. And then it will be held 
as the unanimous decision of Cymru paramount ; and 
a law, so ratified, shall be the law of every country, 
territory, kingdom, court, place of worship, and district, 
and of the same force as if it had been confirmed by a 
general session : for, the constitutional law says, " It 
had the assent and consent of Cymru paramount, there- 
fore it isestablislied." For if no appeal [to a decision) 
by vote is made within three years ant! three days, it shall 
be held, that country and district, clan and allied clan, 
ratify it, [the law proposed,) since no one can plead 
ignorance of that which shall have been thus lawfully 
proclaimed, as to time and place, whether in a sove- 
reign dominion, an inferior kingdom, or particular 
government, and the opportunity of opposing it, or 
suggesting amendment, has been given.* 

170. The three pillars i^prineipal assertors) of the 
voice of the country. 1. The king of a province or 

^ There are several terms in this Triad which the Welsh 
scholar may, perhaps, think, are not translated with quite suf- 
ficient fidelit}'; but where the general sense is retained in an 
intelligible manner, it cannot be always necessary, even if it 
■were not invidious, to descend to the captious minuteness of 
verbal criticism. In some cases it may be essential, as we 
hope has been seen in a few former instp^nces, to ascertain the 
precise and literal import of a particular word ; but we take 
this opportunity of remarking, that it has never been the aim 
of the writer of these notes to assume the character of a mere 
aiiceps syllaharum, by an idle assumption of pliilological learn- 
ing, that could have no tendency to elucidate tJie general sense 
of the text ; and, whatever may have appeared at variance with 
this assertion must be ascribed to his sincere conviction, that 
the translaticm of the passage in question was defective in some 
essential particular, de-pendent on the right uiuierstaiiding even 
of a single word. It may be said of a tracslatiou like this, as 
has been said of a poem, — 

ubi plura nitent in earmme, nou ego panels 

Offendar maculis. 

And every competent judge will admit the general merit of 
Mr. Roberts's version. — Eb. Tk. 



202 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

lord of a district. 2. The chief of clans. 3. The 
elders of a clan and wise men of the country ; viz. the 
family representatives, whose right is confirmed by 
silent vote of the clan, that is, by regular ballot of its 
several elders. 

171. Three have the power of assembling the 
country* to vote, or on other necessary occasion. 1. 
The king or lord of the soil. 2. The chief of clan. 
8. The family-representative. And, by command of 
either of these, a country or district may be assembled, 
by regular proclamation, made according to custom 
and law. 

172. There are three sessions of a country. 1. The 
general session of country and lord. 2. The session 
of a court of law and judgment, held by judges. 3. 
The session of bards, by privilege and custom of the 
bards of Britain. f 

173. Three protections are general : the protection 
of a court of session or law ; the protection of a place 
of worship ; and the protection of a plough, or team, 
at work. 

174. Three things arc absolutely necessary to a 
session, or court of confederate assembl}'". 1. That it 
be warranted by the right and authority of him who 
calls and holds it. 2. That it has been proclaimed by 
public and lawful cry, for a year and a day, and which 
is to be repeated to the end of three years and three 
days. 3. That the time and place of its being held 
be fixed, in order that both may he regular: when they 
are so, nothing besides public cry and notice is requi- 
site, and what is decreed [in courts of law) will be 

* The original expression is Tri qifraw gtclad. With respect 
to i'lij'raw, wo nuist refer to a note on a former occasion. The 
riglit alluded to appears, from this Triad, to have belonged 
only to persons holding a sovereign character, whether over 
the state in general or some smaller community, and, accord- 
ing to the Triad quoted in the former note, p. 100, must have 
consisted in the privilege of convening the people, in a sort of 
tumultuary manner, ou s.ome extraordinary occasion, — Ed. Tk. 

t See Triad 60, supra, p. 156. — Ed. Tr. 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 203 

valid till a confederate assembly be held, throughout 
the extent of the jurisdiction of the session or court 
■which makes the decree. 

175, There are three kinds of votes according to 
law. 1. The votes in general session of country and 
district which determine the enaction, abrogation, or 
amendment of a law ; and this is called the voice of 
government and district.* 2. The vote [or voice) of 
the country ; which is called the vote of three hundred 
men. 3. The vote {or verdict]') of court, which is 
given by the assessors or elders of the country or clan, 
under protection and privilege of court, which decides 
the number of assessors, being from seven to seventy 
men. 

176. Courts arc of three kinds :'\, the court of 
hundred and commot ;§ the court of the chief, viz. the 
king or lord of the soil ; the court general of kingdom 
and district, which is paramount as to either of the 
others. II 

* Tlie -words arc fcj/rnedd a clnjwlad. The latter word occurs 
frequently in these Triads, and, when united Avith gwlad, Mr. 
Ivoberts has jjjenerally translated it, as observed on a former 
occasion, by "dependency." Literally, cyiclad may be rendered 
"a co-eountr}'," as a compound of c// and giclad ; but its proper 
mcaninji; appears to be a smaller country dependent upon, or 
united with ii larger. Hence, iet/rncdd a chywlad might have 
been justly translated " sovereignty and its dependencies." — 
Ed. T'r. 

t The word, which is translated " vote" throughout this 
Triad, and is parenthetically explained, in the last two in- 
stances, by " voice" and " verdict," is 7'haiih. Wotton renders 
it "juramentum" {'^ Lec/es WidUccv," p. 353); but the transla- 
tion above adopted appears to be most apposite to the present 
occasion. In the sense used by Wotton it applied to " fifty 
men holding lands under the king;" here it has reference to 
three hundred, apparently not having that distinction. — Ed. Tr. 

X Literally — "There are three legal courts." — Ed. Tr. 

I A commot (cwnmnvd) conipri.sed, according to the Laws of 
Ilywel, twelve manors and two hamlets. See " Leges WalUcce," 
p. 157, and Cambro-Bkiton, vol. iii. p. 247-8. The court here 
mentioned appears to have been the origin of the English 
hundred court. — Ed. Tr. 

II The court here last described is, in the original, Uys 
ddygynnidl, which Wotton translates "curia extra ordinaria." 



204 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

177. The three authorities for the duties of court 
aud law: the king's chief coiu-t, the law of the coun- 
try, and the custom of both. 

ITS. Law originates three wars : from necessity of 
circumstances, from the ingenuity of the wise (literally, 
from the nndcrstanding of difficult or secret things 
irhich the wise j.ws$ess), and from the agreement of 
clan and government in their decision. 

179. Three things absolutely necessary to a session 
and to law : obligation to perform the duties, memory 
of past experience, and discussion (or pleadithjs). 

180. Three things that invalidate statute-law : long 
tolerance {of the infringement of it) by country and 
clan ; changes of times and circumstances, which make 
the intent of a law or custom fruitless, and a contract 
confirmed by legal witnesses. 

ISl. The throe impediments to (^privilege or right 
hj/) custom : uncertainty of rank, oppression by it, and 
bad example {anganaith). Either of these corrupts 
the custom, and the three together annul it. 

IS-. There are three things which corrupt statute- 
law :* deception, concealment, and erroneous decision; 
when for a long time they have passed without notice. 
For, when they have done so, they cannot be under- 
stood or corrected because of the difficulty of ascer- 
taining the equity of the case. 

ISo. Three things which none are to be called to 
account for : an evil act not cognisable by law, an act 
which cannot be shown to be injurious, and anything 
found, the loser of which is not known. For either of 
those no one can by law be called to account, unless 
upon evidence : and, where this is not to be had, the 
cause must be dismissed, as at an end. 

But thi? intorprotation above pven bv Mr. Robert? appears to 
bo the most appropriate in this place. With respect to gorsedd 
dih/fit/niiuU, see p. 157. supra, in the notes. — Ei>. Tr. 

* The expression in "Welsh is Tri p/idrus ci/rraith, -which 
vould have been more accurately translated — "The three am- 
bi.sruitio? of law." — Er>. Tr. 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 205 

184. The three conclusive attestations : by oath 
through (or on) the entrails, common confession (of 
both parties), inevitable circumstances which cannot be 
falsified.* 

185. Three things that may trench upon the law : 
that which is done by the king in favour of truth and 
equity and for the sake of conscience and clemency; 
privilege which cannot be impeached ; and a contract 
acknowledged by both parties, and confirmed by wit- 
nesses. 

18G. Three things that must be listened to by court 
and judge : a complaint, a petition, and a reply. In case 
of refusal to listen to cither, he who is denied it has 
the privilege of appealing to his country, assembled by 
summons of the chief of his clan. 

187. Three things that are declared in court and 
judgment : the claim, the answer, and the decision. 

188. There are three things which the royal and 
judicial administration ought to guard, protect, and 
confirm in, [in the country and nation,] at the risk of 
life : truth, justice, and peace ; or, according to otliers, 
truth, {equity,) science, and peace. 

189. The merits of a cause (in a court of justice) 
depend on three things :f sight, word, and act. 

190. Three things that require no decision of general 
assembly of the country :| the king, the president of 

* The words in the orif;;inal are a dichvjciniau anesgoraivl nas 
gellir peirundcr crnijut, which seem to imply " inseparable cir- 
cumstances from wliicli there can be no doul>t," or, as wo 
should say in modern phraseology, " an irresistible chain of 
circumstantial evidence." The Avord translated "attestations" 
is tysiiolaeih., more properly, "testimony." — Kn. Tr. 

t lu the original the words are simply, Tii dcoaydd liawl. 
Wotton translates dcvnydd ctq/n, on another occasion, " the 
subject of an action." See " Leges WalUcce," p. 5GG. — Ed. Tr. 

X Tri diwyneb giolad, which are very differently rendered by 
Wotton, whoso words are " Tria sunt quae regionem vasUmt." — 
" Leges WalUcce," p. 31'J. The whole Triad, indeed, varies from 
that here given. Instead of breiiin, golycliydwr gorseddawg, a 
chyvrailh, Wotton has arglwydd, ofeiriad, a chyvraiih. Yet, 
perhaps, the Welsh word, which Mr. Roberts translates ** pre- 
18 



206 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

session, and the law. That is Avhen these three agree 
[as to a decision) no reference to the (vote) voice of 
the country is necessary. 

191. Three pleas that are admissible for not obey- 
ing a summons to court or session. 1. Floods in rivers 
■which have neither bridges nor ferry-boats. 2. Cry 
of the country to defend the borders against an incur- 
sion of the enemy, Avhcn the person is within hearing 
of the horns.* 3. Unavoidable illness oppressing him. 

102. Three that are naturally incapable of speech 
(m court) : a child under fourteen years of age, one 
keeping his bed because of pain or sickness, and one 
Avho is dumb, in the general use of the term,f or who 
is so by accident, and cannot read. 

193. Proprietaries are of three descriptions : pro- 
prietaries by inheritance, retainers of the court, and 
men of learning. The first of the three are termed 

sidont of session," is more sj'nonymous with ofeiriad, " a 
priest." — Ed. Tr. 

* Tliis lias rcrcrence to the ancient custom of summoning 
the inhabitants together upon certain emergencies by the 
sound of trumpet ov horn, and which was obviously of primi- 
tive origin. Accordingly, in the Triodd y Cliidan, already re- 
ferred to in these notes, the " three trumpet motes or conven- 
tions" are stated to bo " the convention of a country by elders 
and heads of tribes, the horn of judicature, and the horn of 
battle and war;" and, in another Triad, "the horn of harvest, 
the horn of pleadings, and the horn of worship," are enume- 
rated as the " three liorns of general convention." It thus ap- 
pears that the horn was employed on most public occasions on 
which it was necessary to bring the people together, as, we be- 
lieve, it was until lately in the " gathering of the clans" among 
the Highlands of Scotland. And, with respect to the parti- 
cular instance, in which the use of the horn is above noticed in 
the text, the 'frivdd >/ Chidau farther describe it as one of the 
" conventions of mutual compact," in which the "co-operation 
of every free native was required," which will explain the 
reason why the attendance of a person on the "cry of the 
country," when within " hearing of the horns," was to be ad- 
mitted as a plea for not obeyiug the summons of a court. — 
En. Tr. 

t Mud ct/sevin — " one who is originally or naturally dumb." — 
Ed. Tr. 



or THE ANCIENT BUTTONS. 207 

commoners, (llei/gion*), and have a right of tenure on 
land and donative ; the second have a right of office 
decLired hy the law ; and the tliird, viz. : the men of 
learning, have the right of teachers, that is, to a con- 
tribution from every plough in the district, wherein he 
is un authorized teaclicr, and his land by privilege 
free, together with his free ingress and egress (or 
maintenance) in right of his knowledge. 

194. There are three legal rights : right by nature, 
right to land, and right by office. Moreover, every 
right was established and put under the protection of 
country and clan by the general voice and the power 
(i/i case of any infringement of the rights) of sum- 
moningf (a general assemhlg to take cognizance of the 
iifringement) given to the chiefs of clan. 

195. There are three duties incumbent on the learned 
men who are the instructors of country and clan. 1. To 
teach their students (lleygion) in th^ir families, and in 
the place of worship, and in the courts of the district 
and sessions of due assembly as to time and place. 
2. To preserve a faithful record of privileges, duties, 
kindred, pedigrees, according to reputable marriages, 
of honourable deeds, and everything of superior excel- 
lence of country and clan, done in court civil or reli- 
gious, in peace or in war.:j: 3. They are to be ready 
at every due time and place, when necessary to the 
country and clan which they serve, on condition of 
salary and free maintenance, to give instruction, ad- 
vice, and information on sacred subjects, to declare 
what is faithfully recorded, to urge the improvement 

* Docs not Ueygion mean, more properly, " laymen ?" — 
Ed. Tr. 

t Hero cyfraw appears to be translated more accordinc: to its 
true signiliuation. See two notes on the word, pp. 100 and 
202, svpra. — Ed. Tk. 

X This concurs with the duties assigned to the arwyddvardd 
in a former Triad. See p. 173. The word, translated "in- 
structors" in this Triail, is athrairon. Dr. Davies perceives a 
resemblance betv\-eon alhraw and the Hebrew thorah, law, a de- 
rivative oi jarali, to teach. — Ed. Tr. 



208 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

necessary to country and clan according to the neces- 
sities [ncgyddiaetliaii^) of country and border, county 
court civil or religious ; to give due and legal form 
to notices and proclamations, and put them in the 
head of the crier (^. e. make him commit them to me- 
mory), and to book the decisions according to law or 
custom by a written record. More than this is not to 
be required of the instructors of the country, who are 
men of reading and writing, and of reflection and wis- 
dom, lest it should render them unable to perform their 
duty as authorized instructors. 

196. Three bonds which, united, bind the civil state rf 
knowledge, justice, and labour. 

197. Three members of session that have free in- 
gress and egress (o?* maintenance) : a bard, a judge, 
and a family-representative. 

198. Three that have the same privilege by acci- 
dent : an artist who does Avhat reflects honour on his 
profession for the advantage of the community, a 
foreigner who escapes from a ship wrecked at sea, 
and a feeble one (brydd), that is, one Avho, when in 
danger of losing bis life, is saved by a Welshman. 

199. Three persons who are privileged to free main- 
tenance, and called the fed ones (bydavau'c/) : one far 
advanced in years ; a babe, male or female ; and a 
foreigner of no common language. By hydavaivg is 
intended one Avho is not liable to office or work, and 
has his thoroughfare^ without expense by common 
contribution. 



* This word nicanp, literally, " refusals ;" but it seems pro- 
bable euoujih that Mr. Iloberts has taken the sense of the pas- 
sage, and that there is some mis-reading here. The editors of 
the Archaiology, in a note on the word, suggest that it may 
liave been erroneously written for negcsyddiadhav, "the func- 
tions of a messenger ;'' but there seems no foundation for this 
surmise, when the meaning of the context is taken into consi- 
deration. — Ed. Tr. 

t Tri ci/vru-yin gwladoldeh — "The three bonds of civil so- 
ciety."— Ed. Tr. 

i The word translated here " thoroughfare," and, in former 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 209 

200. Tliorouglifarcrs (or those tvho have free main- 
tenance) have their maintenance in three ways. 1. By 
five free acres. 2. If this cannot be done on account 
of circumstances, then b}'' a plough-penny. 3. In 
failure of the preceding methods, by a spear-penny or 
spear-contvibution,* that is, a contribution propor- 
tional to the case from every householder of the clan. 

201. Three blows that are irreprehensible. 1. If a 
father strike his son to oblige him to learn, or to cor- 
rect him for a fault. 2. If the chief of a clan strike 
his kinsman as a punishment for his neglect, or to 
make him attentive to duty or advice. 3. If a lord 
strike his man on the day of review or battle to make 
him do his duty. 

202. The lord, when marshalling his men, may 
strike a man three ways : with his truncheon or wand 
of office, with the flat of his SAvord, or with his open 
hand. Neither of these is an insult ;f for such striking 
is merely in order to correct, to teach, and guard against 
the worst. 

203. There are three customary standing forms [as 
to sessions). 1. To appoint a proper day for the com- 
mencement of the session, for the pleading, and for 
judgment. 2. That the place be well known, within 
sight and hearing of country and clan, so that every 
one may know the place as well as the time of the year 
and the day. 3. The privilege of assembling peace- 
ably and quietly by valid prescription of country and 

instances, " ingress and egress," and " maintenance," is iryw- 
dded, and which may have either of the signilications above 
given it. But, as used in these Triads, it seems to imply — a 
free maintenance or support at the expense of the country. 
Trwi/ddedaivg occurs also in the Historical Triads, with refei*- 
ence to the " three privileged guests" at the court of Arthur ; 
and, accordingly, l)r. Davies, in his Dictionary, renders the 
woi'd by " hospes libere admissus." — Ed. Tr. 

* The term is cyssivyn paladr, which is afterwards explained. 
Ed. Tr. ' . ^ 

f The original is saraad, which, probably, means a fine for 
an insult. See a former note, p. 190. — Ed, Tr. 

18* 



210 TKIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

clan, and that there be no naked weapon against any 
one who goes to the session. AVithout sneh privilege 
no proper session can bo held for the purposes of regu- 
lation, justice, or instruction as to country and elan, 
as equity, tranquillity, necessity or accident, in coun- 
try or district, may require, or in a manner becoming 
a civilized country, Avhen it is engaged upon laws or 
sciences to its benefit and its glory. 

204. Three things that are absolutely necessary to 
constitute a court : the lord of the court as guarantee ; 
a man of learning, or a reader, because of memory 
and declaration [t/nrt which is, or is to bt\ recorded or 
erpouudcd); a judge or justice to decide. And with- 
out these tiiere cannot be a court according to law. 

205. Three things absolutely required in {proa'ss of) 
law : privilege, that is to say, authority ; a judge ; and 
witnesses. For without these there can be no process 
at hiAv.* 

200. There are three whose testimony is allowed by 
law : one who has a vote in the great assembly of the 
nation; one devoted to- religious duties; and one who 
mat be on a jury (literally, one who, in conjunction 
it'ith others, <//<•(•« a verdict.f) 

207. Legal judgment (or decision) depends upon 
tliree things : testimony, circumstances, and conscience ; 
and neither law nor justice can require more than a 
conscientious decision, as far as possible, according to 
testimony, truth, and equity. 

208. The three chief othcers of a court : the chan- 
cellor (or j->resident,) the advocate, and the apparitor ; 
and these are called the requisite officers, because a 
court cannot be held Avithout them. 

* Ybi/iJJ an<7iii{fraw poh cifrraiih. — Ep. Tr. 

t The version of tliis Triad is oxtiomoly poriphrastical, as 
the Welsh reader will see upon eoniparint^ it with the original, 
whieh is as follows: — dri p.hcth y mae ti/.^t ci/nrHhtiirl : >jtrr 
c>;co!ltri/, tjirr tj/ihl, a (?»rr ci/nimnnnL But it apears probable 
that the translation above given, however eireunilooutory, em- 
hnioes the true sense of the Triad, which, certainly, will not 
bear a very literal interpretation. — Ed. Tr. 



OP T}IE ANCIENT BRITONS. 211 

200. Throe sorts of persons that arc to be provided 
■with an advocate to plead their causes* by the king or 
lord of the court : a woman, married or single ; one 
•who is naturally dumb ; and a foreigner who does not 
understand the language. The foreigner is also privi- 
leged to be su])p()rted at the expense of the state, "j" this 
being granted by country and lord, lost ho should 
perish by hunger and cold, until he is restored to his 
station as to country and clan. 

210. Three that are silent in session (or general as- 
semblij). 1. The lord of the soil, or the king; for he 
is not to open the business, but to listen to what is said, 
and, Avhen he has heard all that is to be heard, he may 
speak what he may deem necessary as to the sense 
of the law and the decision that the law requires. 
2. The judge, Avho is not to speak till ho declares his 
judgment as to that which has been proyed by evidence 
and declared by the assessors (or jury). 3. One who 
is surety for another, and who is not bound to reply to 
any but the judge or the assessors. |. 

""■ -Tlio word hero translated " advocato," is /(irodauu/. In the 
preceding- Triad tlio oriij;inal term is r/ud/itio, wliioli appears 
iV(im the hxws of Ilywel to have been a niero rot^idar appellation, 
thoni:;h ci/iH/Ztaws was also used in the same sense. Tavodunvj, 
Ave have seen on a i'onner oecasion, (sec p. 102 in the notes,) 
meant, generally, a witness, ami, when used ibr an advoeati;, 
as in the Triad before us, it may have been synonymous with 
the "amicus enri;x;" ol' the English courts, as imteed seems to 
be obvious from tiie occasions, as here described, on wliich his 
services Avere recpiired. Possibly canllaw, above noticed, may 
liave embraced the duties of an attorney rather than those of 
an ad\i)cate. — Kn. Tii. 

t The original expression is gait ddof/ned paladr. — Ed. Tr. 

j The word rendered " assessors" in this and most former 
occasions by Mr. lloherts, is brawdic;/r. Brawdwr (jccurs in 
the Laws of ilywel as the name for tins judge of the palace, the 
fourtli in rank among the otlicei's of th- royal household. fSee 
" Lt'(/ei> H'allira;" p. 2G, and Oamuro-Biiitox, vol. ii. p. 250. 
And it is evident that in that capacity he was invested with the 
functions of a chief judge. In the instance before us, however, 
it appears that the supreme judicial duties were lodged in the 
yiiad ; and, consequenily, the brawdwijr must have been, as Mr. 
lloberts interprets the word, " assessors," or jurymen. — Ed. Tb. 



212 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

211. 'There are three pleas which cannot be dis- 
cussed otherwise than before a judge and competent 
assessors. 1. The adoption of a person into a family, 
or rejection from it, or the determination of a claim 
to inheritance of one born in another country, or of a 
Welshman born returning from another country, in 
right of the mother to the fourth generation. 2. A 
plea concerning landed property. 3. Deciding on 
terms of peace between countries or clans, in times of 
war, or injuries ; for, in such cases, no permanent de- 
cision is to be made save in the presence of the lord, 
or one substituted by him. 

212. The duties of a judge in court are these three. 
1. To send salutations {embassies,'^') when necessary, 
on the part of the king, country, or clan. 2. To regu*' 
late and discuss causes civil and criminal in his court. 
3. To confirm, by his legal sentence, the decision (or 
verdict) of the assessors (or jury.) [And that under 
pledges, if the law should require it.f] 

213. There are three descriptions of judges. 1. The 
judge of the Supreme Court : this judge is to be the 
principal adviser and chief of the united council for the 
government of the state, and constantly to be with the 
king or lord of the soil, as record of the law, that every 
case brought forwai'd may be justly determined; his 
office is that of justice over the whole realm. 2. The 
judge of a district, (literally, coinmot,) whose duty 
is to hold a court of judgment and record, and the 
court is to be held and pleas sustained where there is 
complaint or claim ; for it is a maxim of the law that 

* The word is c!/varc?iau. — Ed. Tr. 

t The passage between crotchets was omitted by the trans- 
Lator. The word translated "pledges," is gwt/aileidiaeth, which 
seems to have reference to a sort of security that certain per- 
sons were obliged to give for the due performance of particular 
acts. Thus the parties in a real action were obliged to place 
their sureties or hostages ((fwi/sflon) in the hands of the lord as 
a security for their abiding the event of the suit. See '' Le(/es 
IVallicce," p. 1'2-L The word may correspond wkh our present 
" bail."— Ed. Tr. 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 213 

"It is best to judge upon view." 3. The judge who 
is an assessor by privilege ; tluit is to say, a man of 
landed property, and he is to be a member of a court 
giving verdict, in conjunction with others, in court of 
com mot and hundred, in Dyved, Glamorgan, and 
Gwent, {now the counties of l*emhrohe, Glamorgan, 
and 3IonmoiUh ;) for in those counties every man of 
landed property, who is capable of the social duties, is 
an assessor by the custom of those counties. To give 
a verdict, there must be not less than seven of such 
assessors, but there may be as many as foi'ty-two : 
their decision is called the verdict of the court.'*" 

214. Three that are incapable of the office of a 
judge. 1. One incapable of social duties, as being 
deaf or blind, maimed or a slaverer,f insane or dumb, 
or who has an impediment in his speech. 2. An 
alien, or the son of an alien, until he be seized of in- 
heritance in the country, that is, till ho acquires the 
right of descent, which is not acquired till the ninth 
generation, because the descendant of a foreigner is 
not to be preferred to those who are regularly de- 
scended. 3. One who is untaught in the law and 
sciences as cultivated in the country. For a layman, 
who is ignorant of the laws and customs of country 
and clan, cannot judge of rights to land or privilege 
of office, or the accessaries to murders, or many other 
questions of kvv, he not having been regularly iti- 

* What is here said fully justifies the conjecture offered in a 
preceding note respecting the duties of a brawdim; which is the 
original appclhition of the judge mentioned third in this Triad. 
It appears, then, that ho held a situation of a similar character 
with that of an English juryman of the ])resent day ; and, if it 
could bo satisfactorily ascertained that the office existed ante- 
rior to the arrival of the Saxons, the origin of the far-famed 
"trial by jury" must still lic traced, notwithstanding the scep- 
ticism of some celebrated writers, not to the "woods of Ger- 
many" but to the mountains of Wales. — Ed. Tr. 

t The Welsh word is davr, most probably a mis-reading for 
clavar, which means " leprous." It does not appear what could 
have suirgcsted to the Translator the interpretation of " slav- 
erer." — Ed. Tr. 



214 TRIADS or THE SOCIAL STATE 

structcd, and no one, "wlio is ignorant and untaught, 
ought to decide on any legal question whatsoever, as 
ncvitlier Avisdora nor discretion, but rather a natural 
impulse of passion, is to be expected from such, and 
therefore no conscientious justice. 

215. There may be injustice in judgment or verdict 
in three ways. 1. By deciding on that which is not 
in view of the court, or heard by it, and is not fully 
proved by those who could prove it. 2. By deciding 
on a cause contrary to law, whether it be the king, 
the lord of the court, or the assessor, who perverts the 
law in his decision. 3. When the judge is ignorant, 
and acts without warrant ; and he is then said to be 
incompetent and unworthy. When a Welshman, by 
descent, is affected by such a decision, he is free to 
appeal to tiie decision of the country in an assembly, 
under the privilege and protection of the chief of the' 
clan. So, likewise, a foreigner shall be defended by 
his patron, who shall claim for the foreigner the privi- 
lege of such an appeal, in the same manner as for a 
Welshman, in order that the foreigner may not suffer 
wrong. As to a foreigner, who inherits in right of 
his mother, the protection of the chief of the clan in 
his right, because it is that of every Welshwoman. 
Moreover, if a lord, who is patron of a foreigner, does 
what is unjust or unlawful towards him, the lord of 
the soil, or the king, is to protect the injured. If the 
offender be a servant of the king, or lord of the soil, 
the injured is to be protected by the king, or lord of 
the adjacent country, who is to judge according to 
law ; and, if the foreigner Hies [to seek such redress,) 
no hue and cry* after him is to be raised.f 

* The original words are corn gwlad, "tlio horn of the coun- 
try." Kespocting the general use of the horn in public occa- 
sions, see a fornior note, p. 13(3. The parenthetical explanation 
given above, (" to seek such redress,") docs not appear to be 
warranted by the original, which has merely ar mab aiUtynfo, 
having reference, rather, it Avould seem, to his flight from in- 
jury, than for redress. — Ed. Tr. 

t As this Triad appears to be the last of those that have 



OF THE ANCIENT IJRITONS. 215 

216. Three losses that aiford occasion of rapine : loss 
of man, loss of land, and loss of heritable <];oods. If the 
king or lord take more than the law permits, the loser 
may appeal to the country, and the taker shall pay 
for them and indemnify the losers ; so, likewise, if 
any one else be the taker. 

217. Three losses in which there can be no ascer- 
tainment:* of flower, bees, and coined money; be- 
cause each species j^resents a perfect similitude, so 
that none of either can be claimed, unless there be 
proof or confession against the thief. 

reference more immediately to courts of justice and their pro- 
ceedings, it ofl'irs a lit oppurtunity for relating the manner in 
.which a court was anciently holdf n in Wales, witii respect merely 
to the station therein of the several persons principally en- 
gaged. For a detail of the whole proceedings in a cause, as 
they are minutely given in the Laws of llywel, would far ex- 
ceed the limits of a note. The following, then, is the cere- 
monial of the sitting, as derived from the same authority; it 
relates to the trial of an action for land. " The time for hear- 
ing the cause having arrived, the parties interested, together 
with their Avitnesses, shall come to the land in dispute, when 
they are to be jihiced in separate positions, in order to contest 
their right according to law. Afier this, the king, or whoever 
represents him, iShall take his seat with his back to the sun, or 
the weather, lest they should ineommode him. The judge of 
the court, or the chief judge of the couimot, shall sit in front 
of him, and, on the left of either of them, such other judge or 
judges as may be present; and, on the right, the priests that 
may bo in utlcndance. ]\'cxt to the king, or his representa- 
tive, shall be his two senators, and next to them, on each side, 
the men of noble or gentlemanly descent. A space shall then 
be cleared from them to the judges opposite, in order tliat there 
may be a clear passage to their tribunal. On the side of this 
space shall stand the plaintiff's advocate {rynykaws,) with his 
left hand to it: in the middle, the plaintiff; and, on the other 
side, his attorney [caidlaw,) and the crier behind the advocate. 
Opposite, on the other side of the space, the defendant's advo- 
cate is to stand, with his right hand towards the space, the 
defentlant next to him in the middle, and his attorney on the 
other side, and behind him the crier." The proceedings that 
follow are extremely curious, and Avell worth perusal. They 
are fully detailed in Wotton's " Leges Wallicce," p. 124, &c. — 
Ld. Tr. 

* More properly " identification." — Ed. Tr. 



216 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

218. Three persons that are to require a pledge of 
security from the king or lord of the soil, lest they 
should be wronged by them, and for the general safety. 
1. One who is threatened Avith loss of life or limb, 
ought to require it, by oath on a sacred object, (or 
relic,^) or on the conscience, and as God is true, and 
may grant his protection. 2. One who objects to a 
legal decision, because of the detriment he has suffered 
in consequence. 3. A member of general session, 
who has been more than three days in a country with- 
out giving legal recognizance to the lord, or to the 
hreJiyr, that he will do none injury, though there be 
no complaint against him. The brehyr is a head of a 
family, possessed of landed property by regular inheri- 
tance, and who has a right of giving verdict in a court 
of law.f 

219. There arc three crairs, (objects considered as 
sacred when s'worn by:) the rod or truncheon of him 
who offers up prayers to the Deity, the name of God, 
and hand Avlien joined to hand. These are called 
hand-c'rrt//'s {llawgreiriau). Three other forms of 
swearing are : by word and conscience, by word in 
sight of the sun, and by God and his truth. In after 
times the form of oath was : by the Ten Commandments, 
by the Gospel of Saint John, and by the holy cross. 

* The ori<!;inal word is crnir, applioil. in the plural number, 
to the relics of saints -which, as the "Welsh vccvq formerly in 
the habit of carrying them about tlieir persons, became, as in 
other countries, the olijects of superstitious veneration, and 
were, accordingly, used to give solemnity to an oath. Kawdd 
y crciriaii, the protection of the relics, is an expression that 
occurs frequently in the Laws of llywel. 

t Brchyr, or, more properly, brci/r, was one who presided at 
certain courts, resembling the modern courts baron. Wotton 
considers the name to be derived from the Teutonic freyherr, 
a freeman, or freeholder ; but it is more probable that it has 
for its origin the Welsh bre, a hill or eminence, from the na- 
ture of the situation in which the courts, whereat he presided, 
were held. Brhjr, uchehcr, mab udiehn; gwrda, and gmrrhydd, 
appear to occur frequently, in the Welsh laws, in a synony- 
mous sense. — Ed. Tr. 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 217 

220. Three things that are indispensably necessary 
to constitute the recognition of a person : a certain 
home, privilege of country and clan, and an endow- 
ment, (or property in land,) Avarrantcd by the general 
assent.* 

221. Three are privileged from attending to the war- 
horn, and taking the sword in hand, that is, from 
going to war : a bard, an artificer, and an officer of the 
court ; because none of these can be dispensed with. 

222. There are three legal weapons : the sword, the 
spear, and the bow, with twelve arrows in the quiver ; 
and every head of a family is bound to have these in 
readiness against borderers, foreigners, or other depre- 
dators. But none are to have arms in their possession, 
except a Welshman by regular descent, or one of foreign 
descent, adopted in the third degree, to guard against 
malice or treachery. 

223. There are three appropriations of land. 1. By 
breaking it up with the plough, and continuing it, with- 
out objection being made, till after the third ploughing 
is completed. 2. By the first hearth. 3. By priority 
of verdict ; that is to say, by the first verdict in a court 
being given in favour of the proprietor of the land, he 
being a Welshman by regular descent, and that proof 
of this can be shown as far as the recurring terms of 
ancestry. The ancestry of a man are his father, grand- 
father, great grandfather, and so on to the ninth de- 
gree, and these are, by a common name, called c/erni.-f 

* The original expression is cyvarioys yn warantedig o gymni- 
raiod. — Ed. Tk. 

t The precise moaning of the word genii is, in some respect, 
ambiguous. For, although it is here declared to mean a man's 
ancestry to the ninth degree, it applies, according to other au- 
thorities, only to the fifth degree, and that apparently, not in 
an ascending, but in a collateral descending line. See Owen's 
Dictionary, in voc. Whatever may have been the general 
meaning o^ gerni, it seems, in its particular application, to have 
been employed to denote the seventh cousin, or seventh degree 
of kindred in collateral descent. As much has occurred in 
these Triads respecting the degrees of consanguinity anciently 

J-t/ 



218 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

224. There are three safeguards of a boundary: pre- 
occupation, privilege, and title ; or, according to another 

recognized by the Welsh laves, a scale of them, in a direct line, 
may not be considered out of place here. And it may be pre- 
mised, that, as the proof of descent through nine degrees was, 
in many cases, necessary to entitle a person to the privileges 
of a native Welshman, the laws of Wales paid more than ordi- 
nary attention to this subject, a circumstance which may also 
help to account for the exactness with which family pedigrees 
are frequently traced in Wales through so many generations. 

Scale of Lineal Consanguinity. 
Tritavus (0 GorJiendaul) Ancestor in the sixth degree. 

Atavus (5 Scndaid) Ancestor in the fifth degree. 

Abavus (-4 Taid) Great great grandfather. 

Proavus (3 GorJiendad) Great grandfather. 

Avus (2 JSendad) Grandfather. 

Pater (1 Tad) Father. 

Propositus. 
Filius (1 Mah) Son. 

Nepos (2 Wyr) Grandson. 

I 
Pronepos (3 Gorwyr) Great grandson. 

Abnepos (4 Goresgyndd) Great great grandson. 

Adnepos (5 Caxc) Descendant in the fiftli degree. 

Trinepos (G Corchaw) Descendant in the sixth degree. 

Such is the scale, as we are enabled to make it out on con- 
sulting the best authorities, and which do not supply us with 
any names, that we can rely upon, beyond the sixth degree in 
the ascending or descending line, a singularity which is obser- 
vable, also, in the Latin names. This scale will be found to 
difler in some respects from that adopted in Owen's Dictionary, 
under the word tras, and particularly by the introduction of 
goresgynydd as fourth descendant. The name, however, occura 
so frequently in the Welsh laws in this sense, that we are not 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 219 

book, 1. The class, that is, the distinction, by common 
claim, or common family. 2. The privilege, that is, a 
grant to one from the class, in recompense for what 
he has done for its benefit. 3. Warra7ity, conferred 
by the lord in session, as in justice due from a guaran- 
tee, or to foreign born, in right of the mother, in the 
fourth degree, or in any other case determinable by 
court or session. This is according to the law of 
Dyvnwal Moelmud, the most able legislator of the 
Cymry. 

225. There are three records of clan. 1. Record 
of a court of law. 2. Record of the chief of a clan, in 
conjunction with his seven ciders. 3. Bardic record.* 
The record of court depends upon the judge ; that of 
the chief of clan upon his seven elders, as to rights and 
circumstances of the clan, which, when one chief dies, 
the seven elders are to impart to his successor. The 

aware how it could, with propriety, bo omitted. [In a forniei* 
note (p. 1G7) goresgyydd is described as being in the ''\ffth de- 
gree of lineal descent;" but the term "grandson's grandchild," 
there applied to the word, proves that such description was a 
mere oversight.] With respect to caw and gorcltato, there may 
be some doubt as to their right application here ; but, as not 
having any determinate meaning Ijojoiid that of remote de- 
scendants, they cannot be considered very objectionable. Tho 
collateral kindred, in a descending line, are traced, in Owen's 
Dictionary, in the place last cited, in the following manner. — 
1. i^rawY^ (a brother). 2. Ccvnder [^ cou^'m) . 3. Cyvijrdcr {n. 
second cousin). 4. Yagiwion (third cousins). 5. Gwrthytigi- 
won (fourth cousin). 6. C^iir/y/i (fifth cousins). 7. Gorchcivgn 
(sixtli cousin). 8. Gcrni (seventli cousin). 9. Gwrthgerni 
(eighth cousin). For the degrees of kindred that were, by the 
Laws of Hywel, to receive or pay comj)ensation for homicide, 
sea "Leges WalUcce," p. 197, and a former note, p. 184. — Ed. 
Tr. 

* Mr. Roberts has, on this passage, the following note, the 
second, only, of his that occurs in the whole translation. — "The 
Hindoo sytem of arithmetic and algebra, translated by Mr. 
Colebrooke, are, in the original, in verse ; and the science of 
the bards seems to liave been conveyed in the same manner." 
Of this there can be little doubt; and it has been surmised that 
the Enghjn Milwr, or Warrior's Triplet,, used by Llywarch Hen, 
was commonly the vehicle of Bardic or Druidical lore. — Ed. Tr. 



220 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

bardic record depends upon bards, authorized by their 
instructors and privilege of session. These three re- 
cords are called the three authorities of record, and 
their duty is to determine every genealogical degree, 
and every right to an armorial bearing, because the 
right to armorial bearing arises from the right to land ; 
and, where the right to the arms is proved, by record 
and blazon,* it becomes thenceforward evidence in 
every cause respecting property in land. 

226. Three things that lead to the record of court, 
(assist the memory of the court to recollect) : the re- 
membrance of the agreement of both parties ; the re- 
membrance of the termination of a suit, wherein issue 
was joined, and the parties contradicted each other; 
the remembrance of injustice on the part of the lord 
towards his vassal in his court. 

227. There are three testimonies of the dead as to 
land. 1. By the asseveration of the heirs, down to the 
great grandchildren, or lower, if the court think them 
credible, as to what they w^ere told by their forefathers. 
Such are called, "informants according to memory 
and conscience." 2. Elders of country and clan, as 
to what they know of pedigree and descent. 3. The 
hearth-stone or hobf of the father, grandfather, great- 
grandfather, or other relative of the plaintiff, or the 
site where his relations built on the land, which is to 
be proved by the mark, and by the tradition of country 
and clan. And these shall be considered as evidence, 
"where no better can be had, on the part of the de- 
fendant, in a suit brought into a court of law, or na- 
tional assembly. 

228. Three kinds of custom that are to be kept up. 
1. A custom that ousts law, (viz., as common laiv does 
statute law). 2. A cvistom Avhich, by its equity, takes 
precedence of law, where it is in force by the judg- 
ment of the king's court, and by use and obligation 

* Arwi/dd, armorial bearings. — Ed. Tr. 

t For a note on the penianvaen, see p. 180, svpra. — Ed. Tr. 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 221 

beyond memory ; but the obligation is limited to "where 
it has been confirmed by use. 3. A custom which has 
arisen from natural accident or circumstance. This 
kind of custom is not compulsory on plaintiff or de- 
fendant ; it merely puts a stop to process in court, and 
transfers the cause to the verdict of the country, that 
is, upon the oath of fifty of the elders of the clan ; and 
such determination of it is final. After this it is said 
to be law, and is recorded in court. 

229. A man may lose his inheritance three ways. 
1. By warning a border country against connecting 
itself with a lord and his clan.* 2. Betraying his 
lord, or a judge. 3. Killing a man through malice 
prepense. Each of these three forfeits his life, with- 
out redemption, and the descendants of each of them 
become foreigners, in the same state as other foreign- 
ers, before they enjoy anything in right of the mother. 

230. Three things indispensably necessary to law: 
that a law be valid by the enactment or confirmation 
of the country and lord, that there be a court, con- 
sisting of judge and assessors, and a record of its 
transactions. 

231. The record of its transactions is of three 
kinds : poetry,f the book of the court, and a reciter 
of poetry : that is, a bard authorized by an instructor, 
and by his memory, as to subjects of knowledge.J 

232. Knowledge has three objects : to learn, to ex- 
clude error, and to settle what is disputed. § 

■^" This ought to be, more correctly, " his own lord and clan," 
which appears, from another part of the Welsh laws, to be the 
true meaning. It thus seems to imply a traitorous dissuasion 
of another country against an alliance with one's own, on any 
particular emergency." — Ed. Tr. 

t Cerdd davatod. — Ed. Tr. 

X According to the Editors of the Archaiology, there is an 
error in this Triad : " the reciter of poetry" [gwybedydd o lin 
cerdd) being but another expression for " poetry" before used. 
They therefore say, that the " record of a chief of clan and his 
elders" {cov pencenedyl a'i henuriaid) ought to supply the place 
of the tautologous part now inserted. — Ed. Tr. 

g Instead of " knowledge," the translation of cov should have 
19* 



222 TRIADS OF THE SOCIAL STATE 

233. The three requisites of a bardic instructor : 
genius, wliich is the gift of God ; that he be taught by 
a {b(inh'c) instructor ; and that his olHce be duly con- 
ferred upon him by a decree of session. 

!2iU. Tlu-eo ornanionts to a township : a book, an 
instructor who recites poetry, and a smith Mho is a 
good artificer. 

2o5. Three requisites to a winter habitation :* 
firing, ckwr water, and a shepherd of the township. 

2ot>. The three requisites to a su.inner habitation : 
a booth, t a shepherd's dog, and a knife. 

2oT. Three things necessary for one who makes a 
booth for a summer habitation : a roof-beam, forks to 
support the beam, and a pen for cattle or sheep :J 
such a person is free to cut wood from any trees that 
are growing. 

288. Three species of trees that are not to be cut 
down without the permission of the country or lord: 
oak, birch and buckthorn. [Quair, si'rvice-tree '/)^ 

boon "Tooord," -vvliioh, in rot'oronoo to tho proooding Triad, is 
obviously its sij^nitioation. And. iiorhaps, to " oonvinoo" would 
bo moro appropriato than "to loaru ;" tho original word is 
fftci/bi/diht . — 1-u. Tk. 

* Tho ^Yord is Jicnthrr, litorally an old houso, but supposed 
to bo ot'ton usod synonvniously with pauani!/, and thus opposod 
to han^tft/, a sununor rosidonoo. Soo " J^e<fes Wallica;" p. oUO. 
JltinhiT forms piut of tho naiuos of many old mansions iu 
"Wales.— Ed. Tr. 

t In tho original, hwd. — Ed. Tr. 

J Tho Wolsh word is bautjor, which is explained in Owen's 
Piotionary to moan " tho upper row of rods, thicker than the 
rest, in a wattle fence, ti\at strengthens or locks the inner parts 
together ; and in high fences." it is added, " it was common to 
have two or three such plattings." And, according to the 
Laws of Hywol, it was necessary, from the first of November 
until tho end of the winter, that the wattle fence of a barn 
should bo secured with throe of these baiufomu. ^'Lfijes Wal- 
Uca\" p. '2S7. The word is said to be still iu use in some parts 
of South Wales. — Ed. Tr. 

I In tho original, rhavntrt/ddat. — Ed. Tr. 



OP THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 223 

239. Three things requisite to a gentleman by de- 
scent : a tunic, a harp, and a cauldron, to be provided 
by a contribution. 

240. Three requisites for a yeoman : a hearth-stone, 
a sword, and a trough ; and he is to have a share of 
contribution.* 

241. Three things that cannot be shared with another 
person: a sword, a knife, and a tunic. The owner may 
lawfully keep them to himself. 

242. Tiie three disturbances of landed property : a 
suit in court, the bre-sxhing of a plough, and the burn- 
ing of a house. 

243. The three powerful in tiie world {that have 
little to fear in it) : the lord, an idiot, and he that has 
nothing. 

244. Three that are not liable to be driven by force 
or necessity into exile : a woman, a bard, and one who 
has no landed property ; because that neither is com- 
pellable to the public service of the country, to put 
hand to the swoixl, or attend to the horn of war, or 
hue and cry. The bard has the privilege derived from 
God and his peace; his office is to attend to poetry, 
and no one ought to be liable to serve two offices. f A 
woman is subject to her husband, who is her lord, and 
whose she is, and no one ought to deprive another of 
that which is his, whether it be a person or goods. The 
reason why one who has no landed property should 
not put his hand to the sword is, that it is not just he 
should lose life or limb for the sake of another, but be 
allowed his choice and preference. If, however, he 
takes the sword in hand, he is then termed feeble 
{brydd), and has the privilege of a hrydd-X 

245. A Welshman of genuine descent may in three 

* Yn ddogncd paJadj/r iddo is tlic original expression in this 
and the preceding 'J^'iad. — Ed. Tr. 

t As to the bard's privilege and duties, see two preceding 
Triads, pp. 154 and 171. — Ed. Tk. 

X The nature of this privilege is seen in Triad 198, supra. — 
Ed. Tr. 



224 TRIADS or THE SOCIAL STATE 

ways lose his right of inheritance, and his national 
rights. 1. By withdrawing himself entirely to a foreign 
land. 2. By wholly adhering to a foreign force fight- 
ing against his own countrymen, 3. By giving him- 
self up wholly to a predatory force of borderers, and 
that willingly, when he might have made his escape. 

24G. Three ways whereby a Welshman may recover 
his national rights and his land free after they had 
been forfeited. 1. By a complete return from a foreign 
land to his own. 2. By having lost all for the sake of 
his country or his countrymen. 3. By wholly abandon- 
ing a depredatory (or hostile) foreign force, when he 
might otherwise have had property in land and privi- 
leges secured to him if he had fought with it. 

247. There are three irrevocable quittances.* 1. A 
female by marriage, for she quits the privileges or rights 
of her own family, and acquires those of her husband, 
as approved of and established by the laAv, and is no 
more to re-assume the privileges or rights of her own 
family, and the law will not revoke what is done once 
with knowledge of the consequence (or hnoivingJy). 
2. One who, possessing hereditary land, and having 
gone to, and returned from, a foreign country, and 
recovered his land, goes determinately a second time 
to a foreign country. Such a person ought not in 
justice to return ; and, if he does, his inheritance is 
not to be restored to him. The lord of the soil is to 
keep it in his charge till he learns to whom of the fa- 
mily it ought to go, and then give it to him. 3. An 
adopted son, whether received or rejected by the clan. 
By an adopted son is to be understood the son of 
another man, or a man's own son not born in wedlock, 

* The original expression is, Tri gargj/clncyn lieh afiycJiicely 
si/dd. According to Dr. Davies, di/n cargijchicyn implies a man 
wandering about with liis dray, or car ; and hence it has been 
applied to a stroller, or vagabond. The passage, however, in 
which the word occurs above, may be rendered, literally, " The 
three wanderings which have no return," which is synonymous 
with the expression adopted by the translator. — Ed. Tr. 



07 THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 225 

■whom the adopter takes, according to law, into his 
clan, that he may bo heir to the adopter. 

248. There are three courts of country and law, dis- 
tinct in jurisdiction and in form as to those who con- 
stitute a court :* one in Powys, one at Carleon on 
Usk, which is that of Glamorgan and Deheubarth (the 
southern division), and one in Gwynedd. But there 
is, moreover, one original consociate court, which is 
paramount over the three countries, viz., the general 
session of country and district, which determines by 
suffrage, in Avhich alone laws can be enacted in Wales; 
tliat is to say, neither one nor other of those countries 
has a lawfully adjudged right to enact a law, unless in 
common consent with the others. 

According to the custom of Powys, the court con- 
sists of a mayor, chancellor, one judge, who is a judge 
of the district, a clergyman, to write the pleas, and an 
apparitor; nor has it had any other officers by custom 
from beyond memory, or the tradition of the country, 
in PoAvys. 

The court of country and laAV in Gwynedd is thus 
constituted, viz. : of the lord of the commot, unless 
the prince himself be present, the mayor, chancellor, 
judge of the district, the clergyman of Clynawg, 
or of Bangor, or of Penmon, to write the pleas, and 
an apparitoi\ 

The court of South Wales [JDeheuharth), commonly 
called the court of Caerleon on Uske, consists of the 
prince, or king, or, in his stead, when lie is absent, of 
the lord of the hundred, or commot ; the mayor, chan- 
cellor, the man of learning of the court, to write the 
pleas and records, an apparitor, and a number of as- 
sessors, Avho give verdict. t In the southern division, 
Glamorgan and Gwent, every legal head of a family, 
possessing land, may be an assessor. The number of 

* The Welsh -words are parili gorddaicd ac ansauodd gioyr 
llys a'i su-yddwyr. — Ed. Tr. 

t The translation here ought to be "of assessors or judges," 
hrawdwyr neu t/naid. — Ed. Te. 



226 TRIADS or THE SOCIAL STATE 

assessors may be from seven to fourteen, one-and- 
twenty, or forty-nine ; and their decision is called the 
verdict of the court. 

In Powys and Gwynedd there is but one judge of 
the district : in the southern division, which compre- 
hends Cardigan, Dyved [Pembrokeshire), Glamorgan, 
and Gwent {3Ionmouthshire), there is, by privilege, a 
number of assessors, in right of land and family, and 
no assessor or judge of district ; and the assessors are 
appointed by silent vote of the elders and chief of 
clan. Moreover, it is said that these three may form 
a court in Soutli Wales, viz., the king, or, in his stead, 
the lord of the commot, a chancellor, who is a learned 
man, and a number of assessors, one or other of the 
assessors acting as apparitor in the court, or it may 
be done by the chancellor himself.* 

So END THE Triads or Dyvnwal MoELMUD.f 

* According to the Law Triads, the three supreme courts in 
Wales Avcro those of Aherfraw, Dinevwr, and Mathraval. See 
Arch, of Wales, vol. iii. p. 335, and "Leges Wallicce," p. 417. 
Ed. Tr. 

t A doubt was expressed, in the first of these notes, as to the 
propriety of ascribing these Triads to Dyvnwal Moelmud. But 
this was merely meant in allusion to their present form, which, 
there is abundance of internal evidence to prove, must have been 
the work of a much later period. The fundamental principles, 
however, on which these interesting documents are founded, 
maj^ reasonably be presumed to have been borrowed from the 
more ancient code of the celebrated legislator above mentioned, 
and of whose existence, some ages before the Christian era, the 
earliest Welsh annals speak in positive terms. Nor can it be 
deemed extraordinary, tliat his precepts should have descended 
to our times, when Ave reflect upon the peculiar advantages af- 
forded in this respect, by the Bardic or Druidical Institution, 
one of whoso elementary maxims it was to preserve, by means 
of oral tradition, the memory of everything that was worthy 
of being recorded. — Ed. Tr. 



THE TRIADS 



In the following chapter my chief desio-n is to show 
my Christian brethren what a comfortable home the 
Lord prepared for the true chm'ch ; for when God 
works, " His work is perfect." Where could she find 
a home but where her great principles were loved and 
cherished? In all other lands the principles of the 
Christian Church were exotics ; but in Wales they had 
a congenial soil ; for the national motto, " The truth 
against the world," was in perfect harmony with all the 
claims of Christianity. 



Advice of Oatwc/ the Wise to Taliesin the Ohief of 
Bards, ivhen he tvas his scholar. 

Think before thou speakest. First, What thou shalt 
speak. Second, Why thou shouldst speak. Third, 
To whom thou mayst have to speak. Fourth, About 
whom thou art to speak. Fifth, What will come from 
what thou mayst speak. Sixth, What may be the 
benefit from what thou shalt speak. Seventh, Who 
may be listening to what thou shalt speak. Put thy 
words on thy fingers' ends before thou speakest them, 
and turn them these seven ways before thou speakest 
them, and there will never come any harm from what 
thou shalt say. 

Catwg the Wise delivered this to Taliesin, the Chief 
of Bards, in giving him his blessing. 

There are four original vices : first, anger ; second, 
lust ; third, laziness ; fourth, fear. Where one or the 
other of these may be, there will be found every other 
evil to spring, for out of them grow every other evil in 
mind and action. — Catwg the Wise. 

(227) 



228 THE TRIADS. 

THE NULLITIES OF CATWG. 

Without a teacher, •without instruction. 

Without instruction, without knowledge. 

Without knowledge, without wisdom. 

Without wisdom, without piety. 

AVithout piety, without God. » 

Without God, without everything. 

APHORISMS OF GERAINT. 
The seven 'primary materials of the world. 

First, Earth, whence every body and density, and 
every substance and strength. 

Second, Water, whence every liquid and moisture. 

Third, Air, whence every breath and motion. 

Fourth, The sun, whence all heat and light. 

Fifth, Enipyrcum, whence every sensation, appetite, 
and aftection. 

Sixth, Pure spirit, -whence every perception. 

Seventh, God, whence all life, and powei*, and sup- 
port unto the world of worlds. 

And from these seven primary essences are all being 
and life, and on the order of God may the whole rest. 
Amen, saith the Blue Bard of the Chair. 

Geraint, the Blue Bard of the Chair, was Bishop of 
St. Davids, and Archbishop of Wales, and President 
of the College of St. Davids. He was imcle to Asser 
the Wise, or Aserius Mencvensis, first Provost of Ox- 
ford College, and afterwards Bishop of Sherbourne, in 
the reign of King Alfred of England. Asser also 
Avrotc the life of King Alfred, and was his counsellor 
and teacher in the great reforms which the monarch 
introduced into the laws of England. 

The life of Alfred, by Asser, is one of the most im- 
portant documents of those early times, and sets the 
character of the King in so splendid a light, that many 
persons suspect that he, as well as Xenophon, who 
wrote the life of Cyrus, king of Persia, drew up a 
character which they thought becoming a good king 



THE TRIADS. 229^ 

rather than what their heroes were in reality. Al- 
though the very actions of Alfred, in calling to his aid 
five of the most eminent scholars and philosophers in 
Europe, proves the excellence of his character. These 
live men were : first, Aserius ; second, John Erginia 
or Scotus ; third, John Menevensis ; fourth, Grimbald ; 
fifth, Neath. Grimbald and Neath were from Brit- 
tany; but the others were from the College of St. 
Davids. Erginia has been claimed by the Irish. I 
presume, however, that they would have claimed Ase- 
rius, too, had he not taken so much pains in his writ- 
ings to let the world know that he was a Welshman. 

THE TRIADS OP WISDOM. 

First, There are three branches of wisdom : wisdom 
towards God, wisdom with respect to every fellow man, 
and wisdom with respect to one's self. 

Second, The three recognitions which produce wis- 
dom: the knowledge of God, the knowledge of the 
heart of man, and the knowledge of one's own heart. 

Third, The three indispensablcs of wisdom, genius, 
science and discrimination. 

Fourth, The three stabilities of wisdom : what is 
right, beautiful and possible. 

Fifth, Three things will be obtained by wisdom : 
the good of the world, mental comfort and the love of 
God. 

Sixth, In three things wisdom is apparent : genius, 
science and demeanor. 

Seventh, The three exertions of wisdom :. to under- 
stand nature by genius, to perceive truth by studying 
it, and to cultivate love and peace. 

Eighth, Three things in a man that make him wise 
and good : qualities, science and power. 

Ninth, Three things with which wisdom cannot 
exist : inordinate desire, debauchery and pride. 

Tenth, Three things without which there can be no 
wisdom : generosity, abstinence and virtue. 
20 



230 TJIE TRIADS. 

The above is a specimen of the method of teaching 
by Triads, in use aniont:; ihe Welsh in the early a<i;os, 
■when all the rest of the Avorld -were involved in ip;nor- 
ance and barbarity. It may be noticed that, notwith- 
standing the constant reference to the knowledge of 
God as the supreme excellence, still there is not a 
word about hinnan redemption by the Cross. The 
truth is, that the AVelsh nation, perhaps above all 
others, had a suprenu> regard to God as the author 
and founder of all gootl. Yet they had, till a very 
late period, two distincit systems of religion, each hav- 
ing support, to a considerable extent, from the State, 
and each taught by its respective advocates ; and their 
colleges were open to both ])arties. 

Thus Taliesin, the Chief of I'ards and a Chief of 
Druids, was educated inuler Catwg, a decided Chris- 
tian, and Tjesident of a great college in South Wales. 
Both parties held Topery in eipial detestation ; for 
they both knew very Avell that the papists had de- 
parted from the doctrines of the Bible ; and the 
authority claimed by the Pope over the minds and con- 
sciences of men were equally repugnant to the Chris- 
tians and those of the ancient religion. 

The Welsh had triads of history, triads of law, 
triads of the social state, and triads of politeness, ns 
well as of wisdom. Their triads of politeness were 
far superior to the writings of Lord Chesterfield, as 
they were based on real goodness of heart and feel- 
ings of gejierosity, and altogether ditferent from the 
hollow blandishments of the French school of polite- 
ness. 

If we take into consideration the strength of the 
Welsh character, compared with that of nuuiy other 
nations, the laying of such a deep foundation for true 
politeness, and the allowance of such perfect liberty 
to the mind in its researches into the truth, in all 
matters both }>hysieal and spiritual, 1 should think it 
is a subject that Avill interest the minds of all men 
Vfho are not case-hardened by national prejudice, 



THE TRIADS. 231 

which I am satisfied is not the case with the generality 
of American Protestants. To them I am satisfied it 
will be a pleasure to learn that, while all the rest of 
the world Avas subject to the greatest bondage in body 
and mind, both were in the enjoyment of the most 
perfect freedom in Wales — a space of country larger 
than Massachusetts or New Jersey, and containing, 
for many centuries at least, twelve colleges well en- . 
dowed, in which the system of teaching was not 
excelled anywhere, except it may have been at Athens ; 
and in some respects more conducive to the promotion 
of religious truth than the schools of Athens ever were. 
It is well known that, upon the founding of Oxford 
College, by King Alfred, tlie Welsh scholars had the 
whole of the learneil professions, except those on reli- 
gion. That branch was confided to Grimbald and 
Neath, for it is probable that Welsh religion was too 
radical even for King Alfred. It is also a matter of 
history, that in the tenth century, especially during 
the reign of Prince Howell, who commenced his reign 
in South Wales in 907, and died in 948, great num- 
bers of the Saxon nobility sent their sons to be educated 
in the Welsh colleges. Eut, unfortunately, Owen, the 
son of Howell, being a wicked man, destroyed one of 
the colleges on that account, and greatly injured an- 
other, while at other times the Danes would land and 
destroy, and the Saxons in time of war added to the 
devastation. In these ways were all the Welsh seats 
of learning prostrated before the close of the twelfth 
century, although private teaching went on to a con- 
siderable extent, as our historians say that Wales 
abounded in learned men before the Reformation. 

WISDOM OF CATWG. 

The strength of the infant is his innocence. 
The strength of the boy is his learning. - 
The strength of the girl is her beauty. 
The strength of the prudent is his silence. 



232 THK TRIADS. 

The strcngtli of the wise is hia reason. 
The stroiij2;th oC the tojK'hor is his method. 
The stroii^tli of the ])oet is his <j;eiiius. 
The streii<i;th of tlio loiuier is his sciences. 
The streii^tli of tlie scUohir is his penetration. 
The stren<2;th of the artisan is in his liand. 
The strenjvth of the hrave is in his heart. 
The streii<i;th of the orator is his confidence. 
The stren<rth of the artist is his (h'siifn. 
'I'he Btren_ii;th of the virtuous is his patience. 
The strength of the godly is his behef and faith. 
The strength of faith is to be on the truth. 
The strength of the lover of truth is his conscience. 
The strength of the conscience is to see what is 
just. 

The strength of the just is his God. 

THE EIGHTEEN VIRTUOUS EXCELLENCIES OF CATWG THE 
WISE. 

1. The best deportment is huniilitj. 

"2. The best practice is industry. 

<). The best })rinciple is tr\ith. 

4. The best genius is reason. 

T). The best alfection is compassion. 

(). The best study is self-knowledge. 

7. The best employment is peace-making. 

8. The best care is to be just. 

0. The best pursuit is knowledge. 

10. The best disposition is generosity. 

11. The best covetousness is to covet peace. 
V2. The best choice is the doing of good. 

13. The best means of living is trade. 

14. The best instruction is literature. 

15. Tiie best sorrow is the sorrow for sin. 

10. The best comfort is gladness of conscience. 
17. The best contention is who shall lead the best 
life. 

18. The best contemplation is concerning God. 



THE TRIADS. 233 



THE EIGHTEEN VIRTUOUS EXCELLENCIES OF YSTYDVACH, 
THE BARD OF KING VORTIMER TEE BLESSED. 

1. Fortitude in danger aiTd affliction. 

2. Patience in suffering. 

3. That a man be strong in his resolution. 

4. Wise in disputation. 

5. Void of arrogance in fame and prosperity. 

6. Humble in his deportment, 

7. His actions dignified. 

8. Persevering in his employment and pursuit. 

9. Having an avidity for knowledge. 

10. Liberal in his word, deed and thought. 

11. Conciliatory in disputes. 

12. Courteous in behaviour. 

13. Hospitable in his house. 

14. Peaceable in his neighbourhood. 

15. Chaste of body and mind. 

16. Correct in his word and deed. 

17. Righteous in his life. 

18. Compassionate to the poor and afflicted. 
Catwg pronounced his friend victor ; but Ystydvacii 

declared that Catwg had excelled, as he had founded 
the virtues on humility, and the nation has bestowed 
on him the palm of "wisdom. 
20* 



THE TRIADS.— No. I 



Ok all tlio anciotit documents of Wales, the Triads, 
80 peculiarly national, must bo adniittod to be the 
most deserving of our attention. And tbosc which 
arc called llistorieal, or " Triads of the Isle of Bri- 
tain," arc partieularly valuable, as well from their un- 
(luestionable antidjuitv, as from the interesting events 
to Avbit'h they r(>luto. The peeuliarity of their con- 
struction, ignorantly assumed by some as a ground of 
objection, is amongst the most satisfactory j)roofs of 
the venerable authenticity of their origin. Their very 
defects too, such as the want of dates and connection, 
bear ampU' t»>slimony tc» the early ages ■\vliich gave 
them birth. And if to these be addt'd the obscurity, 
or, it may bo saiil, total imovplieabillty of the terms, 
used in some of them, little dotd)t can renuiin as to 
the rcmotenoss of the era, to which they may generally 
be ascribed. Nor will it weaken this conclusion to 
i>bservc, that in miiny of them, as noticed by a learned 
and ingenious writer,* are contained doctrines totally 
at variance with our divine religion, and which accord- 
ingly ap[)ro})riate such to a |)(>riod at least antecedent 
to the establishment (if CMiristianity in the island. 

From this general allusion to the authentic character 
of tlio ancient Triads, it may be worth our while to turn 
to a more particular, though to a brief, examination of 
their aeknowledgetl origin. It is then to the Bardic 
or Hruidieal Institution, as it primitively existed in 
the country, that we nmst assign their iirst introduc- 
tion. The encouragement of oral tradition, whether 

* The Into Kov. rotor Koborts, iu his " Sketch of tho Early 
History of the Cymry." 

(234) 



TlIK TRIADS. 286 

by soufijs or aphorisms, formed a ])rincipal character- 
istic of that celebrated order, it was in this manner 
that they recorded the most memorable events of their 
country ; and so it was, that they preserved for after- 
times their own rules and doctrines.* Poetry had 
thus for ages anticipated tlu; functions of History; and 
in the Triads were embodied whatever might not admit 
of dilfusion in the strains of the bard. These un- 
AVritten records :igain, being regidarly recited at the 
ba,rdic assemblies, were maintained for centuries in 
their original, or very nearly their original purity. 
The art of memory was thus reduced to a practical 
system, and it cannot be denied, that the form of the 
triad was most happily chosen for the purpose. Its 
conciseness, its simplicity, its general uniformity at 
once point out its advantages as the vcdiicle of tradi- 
tional kno\vledg(!. And it deserves also to be remem- 
bered, that the number Tiirke has, from the {-Miliest 
times, been held in peculiar veneration, and, it may 
have been, on this very account, — or, as has been 
justly observed, because it forms "a kind of limit to 
the natural power of repeated exertion, an idea so 
far at least founded in nature as to liav(! become a 
favourite with the poets of all ages." The Sect of 
Pythagoreans, in particular, with whom the Druids 
are presumed by some to have borne a resemblance in 
mor(; points than this, rcgai-ded the triad as the first 
perfect number, and gave this as a reason for their 
triple libations, as well as for the tripod, from which 
were <lelivered the Oracles of Apollo. 

The Triads, thus oi-iginating, continued to bo in use 
during a long succession of ages, until the extinction 
of Bardism ; varying therefore in their antiquity from 
the most distant times down to those which are com- 
monly called historical, and even so far as the twelfth 

* Caisar boars particular testimony to tliis practice, and 
ascribes it, with lii.s usual .saf;a(;it_y, to the proper cause, — 
" nequo eon, qui dincant, JlttoriH couHkoh, mines iueuioria3 
etudoru." Bell. Gall. lib. C, o. 14. 



236 THE TRIADS. 

century. And that many of these vrere ever regarded 
of the first authority, is evident from the respect with 
"which they are noticed by the most ancient Welsh 
hards, whose writings still survive, and especially by 
Taliesin, who wi'ote in the sixth century. Such, as 
have descended to this time, are preserved in some of 
our oldest MSS., and were, some of them, thus col- 
lected, it is supposed, as early as the seventh century.* 
Although all that now remain must have borne but a 
small proportion with those once in existence, "their 
number is sufficient," (to adopt the words of the esti- 
mable author already twice quoted) " to determine 
some essential circumstances as to the origin and his- 
tory of the nation, and the real doctrines of the Bards. 
And it is so far a pleasing reflection, that a discovery 
is made of authorities that point out an origin in con- 
formity with a general opinion, built upon the systems 
and ideas of the historians of other nations, without a 
knowledge of such records being possessed by the na- 
tion itself, "t 

These interesting remains may be classed under the 
various heads of history, bardism, theology, ethics and 
jurisprudence, exclusively of those that relate, in a 
more special manner, to language and poetry. Of the 
historical some are purely so, and others evidently 
blended with fable, yet, even in this view, conveying 
much curious tradition. It will be the object of this 
portion of the Oambko-BritonJ to supply translations 
of the Triads with reference to the classes above enume- 
rated. The space occupied by the foregoing observa- 
tions, will not allow a selection at present of more 

* This is stated in E. Llwyd's Archseologia Britannica, p. 264, 
as tho opinion of that celebrated antiquary, Mr. Vaughan, of 
llengAvrt. But it should be observed that the testimony of the 
old copyists of the Welsh MSS. does not go higher than the 
tenth century. Tlie ancient Triads, liowever, were principally 
collectod during the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centu- 
ries. 

t "Early History of the Cymry." 

i The authority wo quote from. 



THE TRIADS. 237 

than the following, which are extracted from the his- 
torical and ethical Triads. The originals may be found 
in the second and third volumes of that valuable re- 
pository of Welsh learning, the "Archaiology OF 
Wales." *** 



TRIADS OF THE ISLE OF BRITAIN. 

I. There were three names imposed on the isle of 
Britain from the beginning. Before it Avas inhabited 
its denomination Avas the Sea-defended Green Spot; 
after being inhabited it Avas called the Honey Island, 
and after it Avas formed into a CommonAvealth by Pry- 
dain, the son of Aedd MaAvr, it was called the Isle of 
Prydain. And none have any title therein but the 
nation of the Cymry. For they first settled upon it; 
and before that time no men lived therein, but it was 
full of bears, Avolves, beavers, and bisons. 

[In the original the names translated heavers and 
bisons, are IJj'einc and Ychain bdnaiiu/. The descrip- 
tion given of the first in the Mabinogion and the Poets, 
ansAvers to the crocodile and not to the beaver. The 
literal meaning of the other terra is prominent oxen, 
but whetlier, from their having high horns or hunches, 
like the buffalo, or from their great height of body, it 
does not appear certain; most probably the first. A 
better opportunity Avill occur for speaking of these 
animals in connection Avith an ancient and extraordi- 
nary tradition of the Cymry, as recorded in the Triads.] 

II. The three primary divisions of the Isle of Bri- 
tain: Cymru, Llocgr, and Alban, or Wales, England, 
and Scotland ; and to eacli of the three appertained 
tlie privilege of royalty. They are governed under a 
monarchy and voice of country, according to the regu- 
lation of Prydain, the son of Aedd Mawr ; and to the 



288 THE TRIADS. ^^K 

nation of Iho Cymry belongs the establishing of the 
monarchy, by the A'oicc of tlio country and people, ac- 
cording to privilege and original right. And under 
the protection of such regulation ought royalty to be 
in every nation in the Isle of Britain, and every roy- 
alty under the protection of the voice of country. 
Therefore it is said, as a proverb, "A country is 
mightier than a prince." 

III. The three privileged ports of the Isle of Bri- 
tain : the port of Ysgewin, in Gwent ; the port of 
Gwygyr, in Mon ; and the port of Gwyddno, in Cere- 
digion. 

[l"'he present Newport, on the Fske, in INIonmouth- 
shire, was probably the Hrst of these, and Beaumaris 
the second. The sea has overilowed the other, and 
formed the present Cardigan bay, where extensive re- 
mains of embankments are discernible, which protected 
a fine tract of level country, the territory of Gwyddno 
Garanhir, called Cantrev y Gwaelod, overllowod in the 
sixth century. A poem, ascribed to Gwyddno, of this 
disastrous event is preserved in the Archiology of 
"Wales, vol. i. ]). 105.] 

IV. The three principal rivers of the Isle of Britain : 
ITavren, in Cynn-u, [the Severn, in Wales ;] Tain, in 
Lloeger, [the Thames, in England;] and llymyr, in 
Dcivr and Brynaich, [the I lumber, in Deira and Ber- 
nicia, comprising the six northern English counties.] 

y . The three primary islands lying off the Isle of 
Britain: Ore, INIanaw, and Gwyth, or ()rkney, Man, 
and AVight; and afterwards the sea broke the huul, so 
that Anglesey (Mon) became an island, aiul in like 
manner the isle of Ore was broken, so that many 
islands were formed there, and other parts of "Wales 
and Scotland became islands. 

[Nennius, in his "llistoria Brittonum," written in 
the eighth or ninth century, conHrms the account given 
in this Triad. "Three considerable islands," he says, 
"belong to Britain; one on the south, opposite the 



THE TRIADS. 289 

Armorican shore, called Guevth; another between 
Ireland and Britain, called Eubonia, or Manau ; and 
another directly north, beyond the Picts, named Orch. 
And hence it was anciently a proverbial expression in 
reference to its kinj^s and rulers, — ' lie reigned over 
Britain and its three islands.' "] 



THE TRIADS.— No. 11. 



The following "Triads of the Isle of Britain" are 
selected as containing all the notices in those ancient 
documents respecting the Colonization of the Island. 
In some instances they will be found to ascend beyond 
the date of other written records ; while, in many, 
they are confirmed by the concurrent testimony of the 
most authentic historians. It may, therefore, reason- 
ably be inferred, that equal credit is due to such me- 
morials as seem to want this confirmation. These 
have all the internal evidence in their favour that can 
be derived from the probability of the several occur- 
rences to which they relate, as well as from that light, 
with which the torch of etymology, when skilfully 
managed, never fails to illuminate the gloom of anti- 
quity. In the attempts, therefore, which will be made 
to illustrate the ancient Triads, recourse mil always be 
had to this criterion, where the occasion admits. And 
that this may sometimes be attended with the most 
solid advantage to the cause of truth must be evident 
from a reference merely to the etymology of the word 
Cymry, which identifies them, beyond dispute, with 
the CiMBRi and Cimmerii of the Latin and Greek 
writers. Our early history has thus been vindicated 
in a most important particular : and the reveries of 
those authors, who have ascribed the origin of the 
word to GoMER or Camber, are effectually dissipated. 

This, pei'haps, would not be the most proper oppor- 
tunity, even if the space allowed of it, to discuss the 
manner in which the earth was first peopled upon the 
dispersion of the Noachidffi, or immediate descendants 
of Noah. But it may be briefly premised, with refer- 
ence to some of the following notices, that the coloni- 

(240) 



THE TRIADS. 24l 

zation of Europe, -which necessarily took its rise in the 
East, made its progress always and naturally along 
the course of large rivers. Thus the western coast of 
Europe -was first peopled by those wandering tribes, 
who found their way along the banks of the Elbe, the 
Rhine, and the Loire. 



TRIADS OF THE ISLE OF BRITAIN.* 

VI. The three National Pillars of the Isle of Bri- 
tain.f First, Hu Gadarn, [Hu the Mighty,] who 
originally conducted the nation of the Cyniry into the 
Isle of Britain. They came from the Summer-Coun- 
try, which is called Deffrobani, (that is, the place 
where Constantinojjle now statids,) and it was over the 
Hazy Sea,J [the German Ocean,] that they came to 
the Isle of Britain, and to LlydaAv, [Armorica], where 
they continued. Second, Prydaim, son of Aedd the 
Great, who first established government and royalty 
over the Isle of Britain. And before that time there 
was no justice, but what was done through favour ; nor 
any law, save that of might. Third, Dyfnwal Moel- 
mud, who reduced to a system the laws, customs, 
maxims, and privileges appertaining to a country and 
nation. And for these reasons were they called the 
three pillars of the nation of the Cymry. 

[Hu the Mighty, or Hu Gadarn, is frequently men- 
tioned in the Triads : where he is celebrated not merely 
for having been the planter of the first colony in the 
island, but for the introduction of several useful arts. 
He is likewise commemorated for " having made poetry 

* Arch, of Wales, vol. ii. p. 57—9. Tr. 4 to 9, inclusive. 
t The name in the original is Prydain throughout. 
I This epithet is particularly descriptive of the German 
Ocean, the haziness of which is welllcnown to mariners. 

21 



242 THE TRIADS. 

the vehicle of memory and record,""^ Avhich is here 
noticed with reference to what was said on this point 
in the Cambro-Briton. It Avould exceed the present 
limits to enter into all the particulars relating to this 
remarkable character, as they may be collected from 
the Triads and the Bards. Another occasion will, no 
doubt, occur for doing justice to the subject. The 
words above included in a parenthesis, with reference 
to Constantinople, do not belong to the original Triad. 
They are the addition of a commentator, as early, it 
is tliought, as the twelfth century, when, it is but rea- 
sonable to presume, that many documents, no longer 
extant, may have existed in support of the interpreta- 
tion. However, it must be acknowledged, that the 
name of Deffrobani is now involved in much obscurity. 
The Summer Coimtry may without risk be conjectured 
to have meant Asia generally ; and the late Rev. Peter 
Roberts has observed, that '" there is a very high de- 
gree of probability that the word DeftVobani, or rather 
Deflfrophani, is accurate in reference to Constanti- 
nople as the district of the Thani or r;ieonians."t 
Some ingenious conjectures with respect to this name 
may alsobe seen in Mr. Davics's "Celtic Researches," 
p. 1G5. Taliesin, in his poem entitled " Ymarwai- 
Lhidd Biichan^'X has the following lines, which may 
be regarded as a partial confirmation of the tradition 
recorded in this Triad. 

" Llwyth lHa-vTS, anuaws eu henworys, 
Dv gorosovnnan Prydain prif fan Yny 
Gwyr gwkd yr Asia a gwlad Gatis." 

A numerous race, fierce they were called, 

First colonized tliee. Britain, olvief of Isles, 

Men of the country of Asia, and the country of Gafis. 

Commentators have been unable to fix upon the pre- 
cise situation of Gafis. Tiie most plausible supposition 

* Arch, of "Wales, vol. ii. p. 71. Tr. 92. 
t " Karly History of the Cymry." 
X Arch, "of Wales, vol. i. p. 76. 



TJ[B TRIADS. - 2'13 

is that of Mr. Peter Roberts, in tlio work above cited, 
who considers it to have meant tlic modern Kaffa, 
anciently Panticapes, whicli, written in the lan;:;a!igc3 
of the Cymry, wonhl be Pant y Capos, the how 
Country or YaHey of tlic Kapes. Kafla,, the ancient 
capital of Crim ^'artary, is situate on the IJIack Sea, 
a])()ut one hundred and fifty miles north-cast of Con- 
stantinople, and corresponds with the course followed 
by the Cimmcrii or Cymry in their emigrations from 
tho_ East into Europe. Herodotus describes them 
( //^7). iv.) to have made an early settlement in Lessor 
'JVirtary. Dyfnwal Moolnnid, above mentioned, is sup- 
posed to have lived about four hundred years l)oforc 
the Christian era. According to the British Chroni- 
cles he was the son of Clydiio, a Prince of the Cornisii 
P)ritons. lie is celebrated in three other Triads for 
the national service here recorded. When TTywel Dda 
embodied his fjimous code of laws in the lOth century, 
ho nuido considerable use of tiio compilation, attri- 
buted to Dyfnwal.] 

^^ VU. The throe Social Tribes of the Isle of ]]ritain. 
I'he hrst was the nation of the Cymry, that came with 
Hu the Mighty into the isle of Britain, because ho 
would not possess lands and dominion by fighting and 
pursuit, bvit through justice and in ])eace. The secoiul 
was the tribe of the Lloegrwys [Loegrians], tliat camo 
from the land of (Jwasgwyn [(Jascony], being de- 
scended from the primitive nation of the"Cynn-y. Tho 
third were the Brython, who came from the land of 
Armorica, having their descent from tho same stock 
with the Cymry. These were called the three Tribes 
of Peace, on account of their coming, with mutual con- 
sent, in peace and tranrpiillity ; and tliosd three tribes 
wore descciuled from the original nation of the Cymry, 
and were of the same language and speech. 

[It appears from this Triad, that there was a dis- 
tinction between the lilocgrwys and Brython in their 
affinity to tho Cyuny. The former were, indeed, of 
the same family; but the latter partook of a more 



244 THE TRIADS. 

immediate descent Avitli tlioin, no doubt tlirougli those 
Avho went to Armorica wlien llu and his followers 
came here.''' The Loegriaus may have derived their 
name from at one time inhabiting the banks of the 
Loire, anciently the Liger. And it is not improbable 
that they were of the same stock as the inhabitants of 
ancient Liguria, in the West of Italy. f The origin 
of these people has always been considered a matter 
of obscurity, some tracing .them to the Gauls or Ger- 
mans, and others to the Greeks. The name is quite 
in favour of the supposition just hazarded, which 
would, upon the authority of this Triad, give them a 
similar origin with the Cymry. The Brython may 
have been so called from their Avarlike habits, which 
the term implies. Had the word been spelt Brithon, 
it might have had reference to the custom of painting 
the body, common, according to some writers, to the 
early inhabitants of this country. The name is sup- 
posed by some to have given birth to that of the island. 
An opportunity will hereafter present itself for discus- 
sing this point. What portion of the country was 
occupied by these two colonies cannot now be accu- 
rately ascertained ; but it is thought that the Loe- 
gvians settled in the more mountainous parts,J Avhile 
the I>rython proceedcil in a south-eastern direction 
towards the neighbourhood of the first settlers.] 

YIIL The three Refuge-seeking Tribes, that came 
into the Isle of Britain, and who came in peace and 
by the consent of the nation of the Cymry, without 
Aveapon or violence. The first Avas the people of 
Celyddon [Caledonia], in the North; the second Atas 
the (Jwyddelian [Irish] tribe, Avho dwell in Alban [the 
Highlands of Scotland] ; the third Avere the men of 
Galedin \_prohahJi/ Holland], Avho came in naked ves- 
sels to the Isle of Wight, Avhen their country was 

* Soo the ibrnun- Triinl, p 211. 

t Liji-uria cDiiipritied that portion of the country, of which 
Genoii was tlio capital. 
X Seo Triad i', post. 



THE TllIADS. 245 

dro^Yned, and where they had land assigned to them 
\)j the nation of the Cymry. They had no privilege 
of claim in the Isle of Britain, but land and refuge 
Avere granted to them under restrictions : and it was 
stipulated that they were not to possess the privilege 
of native Cymry until the end of the ninth generation. 

[Celyddon, literally Coverts or Shades, was the an- 
cient name of that part of the island, which the llo- 
mans, with their general fidelity of interpretation, called 
Caledonia. The root of the word is Cel, a shelter or 
retreat ; whence too the Ceiltiad or Ceiltwys, in Eng- 
lish Celts, had their denomination, as inhabiting woods 
and coverts ; a fact noticed both by Caesar* and 
Tacitus, t with reference to the Britons and Caledo- 
nians, and descriptive also, perhaps, of the early 
colonists of all countries. Gwyddel, to this day the 
name for an Irishman, has likewise an analogous de- 
rivation, and implies an inhabitant of woods and wilds. 
The radical word is Gwydd, trees or shrubs.] 

IX. The three Invading Tribes, that came into the 
Isle of Britain, and Avho never departed from it. The 
first were the Coraniaid [Coranians], who came from 
the country of Pwyl. Second, the Gwyddyl Ffichti 
[Irish Picts], who came to Alban by the sea of Llych- 
lyn [Denmark]. Third, the Sacson [Saxons]. The 
Coranians are situated about the river Humber and 
the shore of the German Ocean ; and the Irish Picts 
are in Alban, on the shore of the sea of Denmark. 
The Coranians and the Saxons united, and brought 
the Loegrians into confederacy with them by violence 
and conquest, and afterwards took the crown of the 
monarchy from the nation of the Cymry. And there 
remained none of the Loegrians, that did not become 
Saxons, except such as are found in Cernyw [Corn- 
wall], and in the district^ of Carnoban, in Deira and 

* Boll. Gall. Lib. V. c. 15. f Vita Agric, c. 26 et 33. 

X There is no English term Ijy which the original word 
civmniwd can bo translated. The French commune has a simi- 
lar meaning. — Ed. 

21* 



246 THE TRIADS. 

Bernicia. Thus the primitive nation of the Cymry, 
who preserved their country and hmguage, lost the 
sovereignty of the Isle of Britain, through the treachery 
of the trihcs seeking refuge, and the devastation of the 
three invading tribes. 

[The Coraniaid, ahove mentioned, are probably the 
same with the Coritani. In another Triad* they are 
stated, by an ancient annotator, to have come originally 
from Asia. They are also mentioned in two other 
Triads, in one of which they are said to have come to 
Britain in the time of Lludd, son of Beli, and brother 
of the celebrated Caswallon, or Cassivellauuus. The 
etymology of the name (if indeed it be originally 
Welsh) is not very clear, unless it can be deduced 
from Cawri, or Cewri, signifying anciently chieftains 
or heroes, and, by implication, warriors, or men of 
generous habits. There is also an ambiguity respect- 
ing the term Pwyl. It has been thought to mean 
Holland ; but according to Mr. Edw^ard Llwyd, it was 
the ancient appellation of Poland. Llychlyn, above 
translated Denmark, may mean generally the North, 
as the same word does in the poems of Ossian, as well 
as in our own bards. Literally it is the Lake of 
Pools ; a pleonasm applicable enough to the Baltic. 
Alban, now the general name for Scotland, is literally 
the Highland only, and was so used formerly. Cerny w 
signifies, most probably, a projecting ridge or promon- 
tory : there is a point of land in Armorica which has 
a similar name.] 

X. The three Invading Tribes, that came into the 
Isle of Britain and departed from it. First', the men 
of Llychlyn, after Urb Lluyddawg had taken the flower 
of the nation of the Cymry from this island, in number 
sixty-one thousand men of war and cavalry, and the 
people of Llychlyn were driven across the sea to the 
country of Almaen [Germany] by the Cymry, at the 
end of the third age. Second, the hosts of Ganvel 

* Arch, of Wales, vol. ii. p. 78. 



THE TRIADS. 247 

the Gwyddel, [Irishman], who came to Gwynedd, and 
were there twenty-nine years, until they were driven 
into the sea by Caswallon, the son of Bell, son of 
Mynogan. The third were the Caesarians, [Romans], 
who, through violence, continued in this island upwards 
of four hundred years, until they went to the country 
of E-huvain, [Home], to repel the hostile concourse of 
the Black Invasion, and never returned to the Isle of 
Britain. And there remained of those only women, 
and young children under the age of nine years, who 
became a part of the Cymry. 

[Urb Lluyddawg, or Urb with the Mighty Host, a 
Scandinavian chieftain, is recorded in another Triad 
as a leader of one of the " three emigrating hosts of 
Britain." The pcojjlc, who thus accompanied him, 
are thought to have settled on the confines of Greece. 
Fuller particulars of this occurrence may be seen, in 
the account of Urb, in the Cambrian Biography. The 
Scandinavians, who came hither with this chief, fixed 
themselves on the eastern coast, from whence they 
were not dislodged till about a century afterAvards. 
The Irish invasion, here recorded, must have happened 
a short period before that of the Romans. It may be 
observed of the latter, that the circumstance comme- 
morated Avith respect to the women and children, 
although not mentioned by the Roman historians, has 
every appearance of probability.] 

XI. The three treacherous invasions of the Isle of 
Britain. First, the Red Gwyddelians of Ireland, Avho 
came into Alban ; second, the men of Denmark : and 
third, the Saxons. For they came into this island in 
peace and by the consent of the nation of the Cymry, 
under the protection of God and his truth, and under 
the protection of the country and nation. And they 
made an attack, through treachery and outrage, on the 
nation of the Cymry, taking from them Avhat they 
could of the sovereign dominion of the Isle of Britain ; 
and they became combined with each other in Lloegr 



248 THE TRIADS. 

and Alban, "wlicrc they remain to this hour. This 
happened in the age of Gwrtheyrn. 

[With the exception of the invasion of the Red 
Gwyddelians, or Irishmen, so called probably from the 
colour of their hair, the events, noticed in this Triad, are 
"well known from other historical sources. The conduct 
of the Saxons, on the occasion here alluded to, has 
given their arrival in this country a sufficient title to 
be classed amongst the " treacherous invasions of Bri- 
tain." Gvvrtheyrn, or Vortigern, is commemorated in 
other Triads for a disgraceful union of treachery, in- 
temperance, and other dissolute qualities. Yet he was 
a prince of ability, to which cause must perhaps be 
ascribed his re-election to the throne, after having been 
once deposed. He died about the close of the fifth 
century.] 



THE TRIADS.— No. III. 



TRIADS OF THE ISLE OE BRITAIN.* 

XII. The three Combined Expeditions that went 
from tlie Isle of Britain. 

The first was that which went witli Ur, son of Erin, 
with Armipotent, of Scandinavia. lie came into this 
island in the time of Cadial, son of Erin, to solicit as- 
sistance under the stipulation that he should obtain 
from every principal townf no more than the number he 
should be able to bring into it- And there came only to 
the first town, besides himself, Mathutta Vawr, his ser- 
vant. Thus he procured two from that, and four from 
the second town, and from the third town the number 
became eight, and from the next sixteen, and thus in like 
pi-oportion from every other town ; so that for the last 
toAvn the number could not be procured througliout the 
island. And with him departed threescore and one 
thousand; and with more than that number of nble 
men he could not be supplied in the whole islaiiil. ;is 
thei'e remained behind only children and old people. 
Thus Ur, son of Erin, the Armipotent was the most 
complete levyer of a host that ever lived ; and it was 
through inadvertence that the nation of the Cymry 
granted him his demand under an irrevocable stipula- 
tion. For in consequence thereof the Coranians found 
an opportunity to make an invasion of the island. Of 

* Ach. (.f Walos, vol. ii. 6;j— GO. Tr. 14 arirl 15. 

f The word in the urigiiiiil is Prif^aer, which moans a for- 
tress, or fovtiticd town of the first order, not perhaps exactly 
correspondent with our modern idea of town, although that word 
is used in the translation. 

(2-19) 



250 THE TRIADS. 

those men IIutc rotnrnod nouo, nor of tliolr lino or pro- 
geny. Thoy went on an invasive expedition as far aa 
the sea of Cireooe, and, there remaining, in the land 
of Calas and Afona, to this day, they have become 
Greeks. 

The second Combined Expedition was conducted by 
CasAvallon, son of 15eli, the son of iNIanogan, and Gwon- 
■\vynAvyn and Gwanar, the sons of Lliaws, son of Nwyfre, 
"with Arianrod, the daughter of Beli, their mother. 
Their origin "was from the border declivity of Galedin 
and Essyllwg, [Siluria], and of the combined tribes of 
the Byhvennwys ; and their number Avas threescore 
and one thousand. They went with Caswallon, their 
nncle, after the C:esarians, [Romans], over the sea to 
the land of the Geli Llydaw, [Gauls of Armorioa,] that 
were deseondeil from the original stock of the Cynn-y. 
And none of then», or of their progeny, returned to this 
island, but remained among the Konuins in the country 
of Gwasgwyn, [Gascony,] where they are at this time. 
And it was in revenge for this expedition that the llo- 
mans first came into this island. 

The third Combined Expedition Avas conducted out 
of this island by Elen, the Armipotent, ami Cynan, 
her brother, lord of !Meiriadog, into Armorica, where 
they obtained land, and dominion, and royalty, from 
Macsen AVledig, [the Emperor Maximus,] for support- 
ing him against tlie Romans. These people were origi- 
nally from the land of !Meiriadog, and from the land of 
Soisvlhvir, and from the land of Gwyr and Gorwenn- 
ydd; and none of them returned, but settled in Armo- 
rica, and in Ystre Gyvaelwg, by forming a common- 
wealth there. By reason of this combined expedition 
the nation of the Cymry was so Avcakened and deficient 
in armed men, that they fell under the oppression of 
the Irish Piets ; and therefore Gwrtheyrn Gwrthenau, 
[Vortigern,] was compelled to prociu'O the Saxons to 
expel that oppression. And the Saxons, observing the 
weakness of the Cymry, formed an oppression of trea- 
chery, by combining with the Irish Picts, and with 



TUT.; TRTADP. 251 

traitor?!, and thus took from the Cyinry tlieir land, and 
also tln'if privik'f^os and tli(>ir crown. 

^riicso throe (Joiiil)ioed l^^xpodltions ai'o called the 
Ihi-ce Mighty Ari-ogancu^.s of the nation of the (Jyniry ; 
also the three Silver Hosts, hecansc of their taking 
away out of the island the gold and the silver, as far 
as tliey cotdd obtain it by deceit, and artifice, and in- 
justice, :is well as by right and consent. And they 
ai'c called the three Unwise Armaments, for weaJcenini: 
thereby the islaiul so uiiu!h, as to give place in conse- 
quence to the tin-ee Mighty Oppressions, — that is, those 
of the Corani;ins, the Jlomans, and the Saxons. 

[Ur, here mentioned, is the same with Urb Lluydd- 
awg, noticed in Triad X. At what period he arrived 
in JJritain docs not appear very evident ; but it must 
have been some time previous to the lloman invasion. 
Nor is it certain to wliat part of dreece or its vicinity 
he and his followers emigrated. Galas may mean Ga- 
latia, or Gallognccia, so called from a colony of Gauls 
or Celts, by whom it is supposed to have been peopled. 
When St. Jerome was there, in the fourth century, he 
recognized the Celtic tongue, which ho had heard 
spoken at Treves. That part of Galacia called Paph- 
lagonia, was formerly inhabited by the lleneti, from 
whom originated the Yeneti in Italy, also of Celtic 
extraction. With respect to the expedition of Caswal- 
lon, Cicsar himself seems, in some degree, to confirm 
the account here given, although the amount of the 
force which accompanied him seems to be over-rated. 
Cscsar's words are, "In JJritanniam proficisci contondit, 
quod, omnibus fere Ga,llicis bellis, hostibus nostris indo 
subministrata auxilia intelligebat." [Bell. Oal. Lib. 
4, c. 20.) Galedin, mentioned above, and also in Triad 
YIII., may have been a part of the Netherlands; and 
Bylwennwys the Boulognese. But these conjectures 
are, by no means, oftered positively. The expedition 
of Cynan took place about the end of the fourth cen- 
tury. Meiriadog, the place whence he was distin- 
guished, comprises the north-eastern division of what 



252 THE TRIADS. 

was anciently Powys. Seisyllwg was the name of 
parts of the present counties of Brecon and Glamor- 
gan ; and Gwyr and Gorweuydd were Gower, and the 
adjacent part of Glamorgan. Ystre Gyvaelwg was, 
most probably, some portion of what is now Normandy : 
the name implies a district comprehending a junction 
of brows or ridges of hills. The name of Vortigern, 
it may be noticed, given to Gwrtheyrn, mentioned in 
this and a preceding Triad, belongs to the Irish dialect, 
and was first applied to him by Eede, who might have 
learned it from his Irish teachers in lona.] 

XIII. The three Mighty Oppressions of the Isle of 
Britain that combined together, and therefore became 
one oppression, which deprived the Cymry of their pri- 
vileges, their crown, and their lands. The first was 
that of the Coranians, who confederated with the Ro- 
mans, so that they became one ; the second, that of 
the Romans ; and the third, that of the Saxons, who 
confederated with the other two against the Cymry. 
And this came from God, as a punishment for the 
three mighty arrogances of the nation of the Cymry, 
as their intentions could not have been founded in 
justice. 



THE TRIADS.— No. IV. 



The Triads which are selected for tliis number, are 
of a more miscellaneous description than those that 
have preceded them. The first that follows, may be 
styled a Constitutional Triad, while the five others 
seem to unite a mixture of history and mythology. 
And of these the last two contain, as will be seen, that 
traditionary reference to the Deluge, Avhieli is un- 
doubtedly the most extraordinary of all the ancient 
memorials preserved by the Cymry. An allusion to 
this remarkable tradition was made in the first number ; 
and its very interesting character requires here a few 
preliminary observations of a more general nature than 
those which may be submitted in the sequel, to ex- 
plain its peculiar connection with this country. 

In the whole history of the world the most momen- 
tous event is unquestionably the Deluge. Nor is there 
any other that can bear the most distant comparison 
with this in the tremendous impression it must have 
left on the memory of mankind for many subsequent 
ages. Hence we find the early annals of all ancient 
countries more or less impregnated Avith the recollec- 
tions of this dreadful calamity. In some the account 
preserved corresponds, in a singular manner, with that 
of the sacred volume :* in some again fable has evi- 

* This is particularly the case with the history of this ovo.nt 
as given hy Lucian, [Dc Dea Syria, vol. ii. p. 8S2,) ■wluTcin 
Noah is described as l)eucalion, and the scene of the Deluge 
laid at Ilierapulis, in Syria. Diodorus Siculus likewise ob- 
serves, {Lib. i. p. 10,) that "in the Deluge, which happened in 
the time of Deucalion, almost all flesh died," which accords 
exactly with the expression used, on the same occasion, in 
Genesis c. vii. 

22 ■ (253) 



254 THE TRIADS. 

dently been engi-afted upon the original history ; 
Avhile in others the genuine substance is scarcely dis- 
cernible through the cloud of mythological attributes, 
with -which it has been invested. Yet all have re- 
tained one common and remarkable characteristic, in 
appropriating this great event, as they do, to those 
particular nations in Avhich this tradition has been 
found to exist. Thus we have the inundation of Attica, 
in the reign of Ogyges, — that of Samorhrace, before 
the age of the Argonauts,* — and that of Egypt, during 
the Trojan war : while the people of Thessaly, Phocis, 
Sj'ria, Epirus, and iSicily have alike laid claim to the 
great flood of Deucalion, the Noah of the Pagan world, 
and have, each of them, localised the occurrence to 
some spot in their respective countries. f The Hindus 
too have preserved, in their singular mythology, a 
similar vestige of this general tradition, "which," to 
borrow the language of the late Mr. Roberts,| "every 
nation, that has ancient records, has retained and ap- 
plied to its earliest abode after the dispersion, when 
the memorial of that event was confounded with other 
emigrations." 

It cannot therefore be considered extraordinary, 
that the Cymry, a people confessedly of the most 
ancient origin, should likewise have treasured some 
account of that grand catastrophe, or that, following 
the example of other nations, they should have con- 
fined its operation to that spot, Avhere, after their de- 
parture from the East, they made their first settled 
abode. Accordingly we have the "bursting of the 

* This deluge is said to have been occasioned by the over- 
flow of the Euxine, -which the ancients considered merely as a 
large lake. Samothrace Avas an island in the ^-Egean Sea, the 
inhabitants of which were particularly superstitious, and sup- 
posed all mysteries to take their origin tliere. 

t Xenophon enumerates five inundations in different coun- 
tries, all apparently so many variations of the genuine account. 
And Strabo notices the tradition of such an event having caused 
the first emigration from Tauric Chersonese. 

X Early History of the Cymry, p. 41. » 



THE TUTADS. 255 

lake of floods" numbered as one of the "three awful 
events of the Isle of Britain," and the " ship of Nevydd 
Nav Ncivion," which conveyed the male and female 
of all animals upon that disastrous occasion, reckoned 
as one of its three greatest achievements. And the 
very oxen of Hu the Mighty, and the other animals, 
introduced into the narrative, accord in so curious a 
manner with tlie fabulous circumstances appropriated 
to the Deluge in other countries, thnt they tend 
strongly to confirm the claim of the Triads, in this 
instance, to the genuineness and antiquity of their 
memorials. " These," Mr. Davies very justly observes 
in reference to this subject,* " are evident traditions 
of the Deluge ; and their locality, as well as other 
peculiarities, furnishes sufFicient proof, that they must 
have been ancient national traditions. Such memo- 
rials as these cannot be supposed to have originated 
in a perversion of the sacred records during any age 
subsequent to the introduction of Christianity. The 
contrary appears from their' whimsical discrepancy 
with historical fact." And "this account," he adds 
with the same judgment, "has no appearance of being 
drawn from the record of Moses : it is a mere muti- 
lated tradition, such as was common to most heathen 
nations." 

In contemplating this interesting relic of the primi- 
tive lore of the Cymry, we are naturally led to regard 
it as adding one more to the numerous testimonies, 
previously furnished, to the truth of the Mosaic His- 
tory. But indeed, with respect to the important fact 
of the Deluge, it must be the very infjituation of 
scepticism, to question the miracle, when not only the 
history and mythology of the Pagans, but the very 
phenomena of the earth, as they exist at this day, con- 
cur in its vindication. However, it cannot but be a 
gratifying proof of the authenticity of the Welsh 
records, as well as of the antiquity of their origin, to 

* Mythology and Rites of the Druids, pp. 95, 96. 



256 TJIE TRIADS. 

find them confirmed in tliis singular instance, as they 
ai-o in so many others, by those concurrent testimonies, 
which the worUi has ever considered as unimpeachable. 
And it may be lioped, that the time will yet arrive, 
when the antiquary or historian, of Avhatever country, 
in his search after truth through the darkness of past 
ages, shall not consider his task complete until he has 
fully explored the venerable remains of our national 
literature. 



TIUAPS OF THE ISLE OF BRITAIN.* 

XTV. The three Pillars of the Commonwealth of 
the Islo of liritain. The }nvj of a country, the kingly 
othco, and the functmn of a judge. 

[A singular coincidence with some of the funda- 
mental })rin('i|dos of the English Constitution is ob- 
servable in this Triad. And, it is not too much to 
})resuuu% that, as Alfred, in laying the ground-work 
of that great political edifice, employed, amongst his 
counsellors, one or two learned Welshmen, and par- 
ticularly the celebrated Aserius Menevensis, he may 
have borrowed many valuable snggestious from the 
ancient institutions of the Cynn-y. JiJuiith G ich'ni, 
translated above "the jury of the country," is ex- 
plained in the laws of llvwcl Ddo to mean the oath 
of fifty nuMi from amongst those Avho hold land under 
the king."] 

XV. The three Losses, by Disappearance, of the 
Isle of Britain, (xavran, son of Aeddan, with his men, 
who went to sea in seareh of the iireen Islands of the 
Floods, and nothing more was heard of them. Second, 

* The ovio-inals of thoso Trimb niiiv be fmiud as follows : — 
the fii\it, Aroh. of "NValos, vol. ii. p. 57, Tr. 3 ; the next four, lb. 
p. 59, Tr. 10 to 13 inclusive : the fos/, lb. p. 71, Tr. 97. 



THE TRIADS. 257 

Mcrddln, the Bard of Ambi'osius, with his nine scien- 
tific Bards, who went to sea in the house of glass, and 
tliero have been no tidings whither they went. Third, 
Madawg, son of Owain Gwyncdd, who, accompanied 
by tliree hundred men, went to sea in ten ships, and 
it is not known to what place they went. 

[Gavriin, here mentioned, was a distinguished chief- 
tain during the close of the fifteenth century. lie is 
described in another Triad as one of the three faith- 
ful tribes of Britain. The Green Islands of the Floods, 
in the original Criverddonau Llion, have been sup- 
posed to mean the Canaries, or the Cape Verd Islands. 
Mcrddin was a cotcmporary of Gavran : he is farther 
commemorated in the Triads as one of the three Chris- 
tian Bards of the Isle of Britain. In what this singu- 
lar account of his "disappearance" took its rise it 
would bo difficult now to discover. But similar legends 
arc common to other countries. Nennius, in his 
" Ilistoria Brittonum," makes mention of a Tower of 
Glass, which appeared, in the middle of the sea, to 
some Spanish soldiers. And in a Spanish romance of 
"Alexander," written in the thirteenth century, is a 
long account of the hero's descent into the sea in a 
house of glass. The same story is also to be found in 
a German romance about the year 1100. And in the 
continuation of the " Orlando Eurioso," some of the 
spirits, summoned to Demagorgon's Council, arc de- 
scribed as sailing through the air in ships of glass, 
" gran' navi di vetro." All these extraordinary fic- 
tions were, most probably, founded in one common 
tradition, of which the reason is now lost. Both Mr. 
Roberts and Mr. Davies conceive Merddin's House of 
Glass to signify a sacred vessel emblematic of the Ark ; 
and the latter farther considers it to be only a symbol 
of initiation into the Druidical Mysteries.* With re- 
spect to Madawg's emigration, the principal authorities 

* Seo Mr. Robert's " Cambrian Popular Antiquities," p. 78 ; 
and Mr. Davios's " Mythology and Kites of the Druids," pp. 
211, 270, 277, aud 522. 
99 * 



258 THE TRIADS. 

that confirm this account, were noticed in the Second 
Number of the Cambro-Briton. He was a younger 
son of Owain Gwynedd, Prince of North Wales, and 
left his country in consequence of the contest for the 
succession, Avhicli took place amongst his brothers 
upon Owain's death. His first emigration is said to 
have taken place in 1170, and his final departure or 
" disappearance," as it is above called, about two years 
afterwards. There are strong grounds for believing 
that the descendants of this prince and his followers 
are at this day in existence in the remote wilds of the 
North American Continent. And it may be interest- 
ing to add, that a young man, a native of Wales, is at 
present endeavouring to explore the presumed settle- 
ment of this colony, with every reasonable prospect of 
succeeding in the object of his spirited enterprise, so 
as, in one way or other, to set this long controverted 
question at rest.] 

XVI. The three Oppressions that fell on the Isle 
of Britain, and came afterwards to an end. First, 
the oppression of the Horse of Malaen, which is called 
the oppression of May-day ; and the oppression of the 
Dragon of Britain ; and the oppression of the Half- 
apparent Man. That is, the first was transmarine ; 
the second from the frenzy of a country and nation 
under the pressure of the violence and lawlessness of 
princes, and Avhich Dyvnwal Moelmud extinguished, 
by forming an equitable system of mutual obligation 
between society and society, between prince and prince, 
and between country and country. The third was in 
the time of Beli, the son of Manogan, and which was 
a treasonable conspiracy, and he extinguished it. 

[The circumstances, recorded in this Triad, are so 
enveloped in mystery, as scarcely to afford a chance 
of any rational interpretation. The original names 
are March Malaen, Braig Prydain, and Gwr Lledri- 
thiawg. With respect to the first it may be noticed, 
that it is still a proverbial expression, in reference to 
what has been squandered or thrown away, to say. 



THE TKIADS. 259 

"it lias gone on the horse of Malaen." Yet, if this 
personage be the same with Melen, or Malen, recorded 
in another Triad* as one of the three recognized de- 
mons of the Isle of Britain, it may correspond with 
the Bellona of the ancient Mythology, with which the 
name seems to bear some affinity. Draig Prydain 
may also be rendered the Prince or Generalissimo of 
Britain. Lledrithiaivg, translated " Half-apparent 
Man," implies strictly one who has the power to 
appear or disappear at will. The Triads commemo- 
rate three persons, as having been possessed of this 
illusive faculty.] 

XVII. The three Dreadful Pestilences of the Isle 
of Britain. First, the pestilence from the carcases of 
the Gwyddelians, who were slain in Manuba, after 
they had oppressed the country of Gwynedd for twenty- 
nine years. Second, the pestilence of the Yellow 
Plague of Rhos, and which originated from the car- 
cases of the slain ; and whoever went within reach of 
the effluvia fell dead immediately. And the third Avas 
the pestilence of the Bloody Sweat, in consequence of 
the corn having been injured by wet weather, in the 
time of the oppression of the Normans, under William 
the Bastard. 

[The Gwyddelian or Irish Invasion, here alluded 
to, is recorded in Triad X. translated in the Second 
Number of the Cambro-Briton. The Yellow Plague 
of Rhos, which the old poets personify as a yellow 
serpent, happened during the reign of Maelgwn Gwy- 
nedd, about the middle of the sixth century, in the 
district, which occupies the sea-coast between Comvy 
and the Vale of Clwyd. The event, last recorded, 
requires no explanation.] 

XVIII. The three Awful Events of the Isle of 
Britain. First, the rupture of the Lake of Floods, 
and the going of an inundation over the face of all the 
lands, so that all the people were drowned, except 

* Arch, of Wales, vol. ii, 16, 17, and 71. 



260 THE TRIADS. 

Dwyvan and Dwyvacli, Tvlio escaped in a bare ship, 
and from them the Isle of Britain was re-peopled. 
The second was the trembling of the Torrent Fire, 
"when the earth was rent unto the abyss, and the 
greatest part of all life was destroyed. The third 
was the Hot Summer, when the trees and plants took 
fire with the vchcmency of the heat of the sun, so that 
many men and animals, and species of birds, and ver- 
min, and plants were irretrievably lost. 

[On account of the very interesting nature of this 
and the following Triad, the strictest regard has been 
observed, in the translation, to the peculiar phrase- 
ology of the originals. The traditionary record, which 
they contain, possesses intrinsic evidence of its high 
antiquity ; and a part of it furnishes, as has been pre- 
mised, an unquestionable memorial of the Deluge, and 
that so singularly dissimilar from the scriptural his- 
tory, as wholly to preclude all suspicion of being 
founded upon it. Llyn Llion, translated the Lake 
of Floods, means, in its more extensive sense, an in- 
exhaustible aggregate of Avaters : and the old poets 
have accordingly applied it to the Deluge. Dwyvan 
and Dwyvach, the names of the two persons who sur- 
vived this catastrophe, signify literally the divine male 
agent, and the divine female "hgent, epithets that must 
be allowed to be singularly applicable to the renovators 
of the human species, to those whose important func- 
tion it was 

Populos repararo paternis 
Artibus, atque aniuias fonuati\3 iiil'undere terra).* 

Dwyvan may also be synonymous with the Welsh names 
Dylan and Dyglan, Avhich strongly resemble Deuca- 
lion. With respect to the two calamities by fire here 
recorded, they must have happened in very early ages ; 
the former apparently owing to a volcanic eruption, 

* Ovid. Metam. Lib. i. 1. 363. 



THE TRIADS. 261 

and the other to the preternatural heat of the sun. 
The well-known fable of Phaeton had probably a meta- 
phorical allusion to the latter of these occurrences : 
and Ilesiod's sublime description of the conflagration 
of the earth may likewise have owed its bh-th to some 
such catastrophe.]* 

XIX. The three Primary Great Achievements of 
the Isle of Britain. The ship of Nevydd NavNeivion, 
which carried in it the male and female of all living, 
when the Lake of Floods was broken : the prominent 
oxen of IIu the Mighty drawing the crocodile of the 
lake to land, and the lake broke out no more ; and the 
stones of Gwyddon Ganhebon, whereon might be read 
all the arts and sciences of the world. 

[The names that occur in this Triad are very ro- 
raarkable. Nevydd Nav JVeivion plainly designates 
Noah. The words, taken abstractedly, imply Floater, 
Float of Floats, which is s3^nonymous with Neptune, 
Lord of Lords. Sir William Jones, in his Hj'mn to 
Nariana, has the same idea. JVav is still a common 
word for Lord, in which sense it occurs in the metrical 
Psalms : and Neivion, its regular plural, is also em- 
ployed in ancient compositions to denote the Creator, 
although it occasionally seems to apply to Neptune. 
Thus an old poet has the following couplet : 

"Y nofiad a Avnaeth Noifion 
Droia fawr draw i Fon." 

The swimming, that Noivion performed 
From great Tnjy yonder to Moua. 

The similarity between the names of Nav and Noah, 
and more particularly Naus, one of the Patriarcli's ap- 
pellations in the East, deserves also to be here noticed. 
The Ship of Nevydd Nav Neivion, therefore, can only 
mean the ark, which is accordingly numbered as one 
of the three chief works of the Isle of Britain, upon 

* See his Theoj^onia, 1. 089 to 704. 



262 THE TRIADS. 

the same principle tliat the Deluge is described as one 
of its three aAvful events. The drawing of the croco- 
dile, or whatever be the animal, Avhich the Triad calls 
avanc,''' out of the lake, has, of course, a reference to 
•the preceding achievement. A similar exploit is re- 
corded in the Hindu Mythology, in which Yishnou is 
celebrated for destroying the monster, that had occa- 
sioned the Deluge, and recovering the earth and the 
veds. It is a singular fact, too, that the hippopotamus 
and crocodile were equally symbols of the Deluge 
amongst the Egyptians, and were both employed, in 
common Avith the wolf, as emblems of Typhon, whom 
they regarded as the cause of every evil, and conse- 
quently of the general inundation. f Some of our 
ancient bards, among whom are Gwynvardd Brychein- 
iog and lolo Goch, make allusion to Hu and his oxen : 
and the tradition is still prevalent in mJin}'- parts of 
Wales, the drawing of the avanc out of the water being 
appropriated to different lakes. Amongst these are 
one in Caernarvonshire, and another on the Hiraethog 
Mountain, near Denbigh, called Lhjn dau Ychain, or 
the Pool of the two Oxen. At LJan Dewi Brevi, or 
St. David's of the Lowing, in Cardiganshire, they 
formerh^ showed, as a relic, a large horn which they 
protended belonged to one of Hu's oxen ; and there is 
still extant a piece of music, imitating the lowing of 
oxen and the rattling of their chains in drawing the 
avanc out of the water. In the Mabinogion, or Ro- 
mantic Tales, one of the achievements of Paredur is 
the slaying of the addanc y Uyn, or crocodile of the 
lake, at the Hill of Lamentation. And a poet of the 

* According to the Welsh Laws this animal was at one time 
common in Wales : and Giraldus Cambrensis speaks of it as 
being found in his time in the river Teifi. It has also been 
called addanc and Uosih/daii, -which latter seems to mean the 
beaver, an animal that is said to have been seen in Nant Ffran- 
con, in Caernarvonshire, at no very remote period. Addanc is 
merely avanc, written according to tlie Dimctian dialect. 

t See Plutarch's " Isiris and Osirin," and Diodorus Siculus, 
Lib. i. 



THE TRIADS. 263 

fifteenth century, in soliciting a suit of armour from 
his patron, compares the workmanship to the "wonder- 
ful scales on the fore legs " of the avano. Many other 
particulars might be enumerated, all tending to confirm 
the extraordinary tradition preserved in the Triad, the 
precise reason of which, however, must still be consid- 
ered inexplicable. It is somewhat remarkable that the 
Arkite Divinity, Dionusus, another name for Noah, 
was represented by some of his votaries in the shape 
of a bull : and in the Orphic Ilymns he is called ravpo. 
yivy;; and tavpofjisTfcifio;.' His inseparable companions, 
too, the Centauri, are described as horned ; and certain 
ships of old were called liuxevtavpoi, whence the Venetians 
took the name of their Bucentaur. The Egyptians, 
too, it may be added, thought the horns of a young ox 
or bull bore a resemblance with a lunette, which was 
with them an emblem of the ark. From all this it may 
reasonably be inferred, that bulls or oxen had, in most 
ancient countries, some share in the fabulous circum- 
stances ascribed to the Deluge.* The names given to 
the oxen of IIu, are Ninis and Peihio. — With respect 
to Hu himself, it would be impossible here to do ade- 
quate justice to the various particulars recorded of him. 
But an opportunity will soon be selected for entering 
into a separate and full investigation of this remarkable 
character. The stones or tablets of Gwyddon Ganhe- 
bon seem to correspond with the inscribed pillars of 
Seth or Hermes; or they may have a reference to the 
hieroglyphical or Runic inscriptions, Avhich have been 
found in various countries, both on artificial obelisks 
and natural rocks. But, whether historical or fabulous, 
the tradition here preserved is well worthy of a more 
minute examination. Gwyddon Ganhebon is also com- 
memorated in the Triads as having been "the first 
man in the world who composed poetry." 

* Many interesting particulars, relating to this inquiry, may 
lie found in the 2d volume of Bryant's learned "Analysis of 
Ancient Mythology." 



THE TRIADS.— No. Y 



TIUAPS OF TIIK ISl.K OF BlUTAIN.* 

XX. The thvoo rriniary Tribes of the nation of the 
Cymry: the Gwontians, or tlie men of Essylhvj;; the 
Gwynviydians, or tlie men of Owvne«hl and Powvs ; 
and the tribe of Pendaran Dy.ved, Avhieh comprehend 
the men of Dyved, and Gwyr, and Ceredigion. And 
to each of them belongs a peculiar dialect of the 
Welsh. 

[Gwent, in its strict application, vas the present 
county of Monmouth, divided into I wchgoed and 
Isgoed, or above the wood and below the wood, having 
Caerwent, or Venta Silurum. for its capital. Essylhvg 
or Essyllwyr was a more general appellation, and was 
the Siluria of the Romans — Gwyndyd is another name 
for Gwynedd, only varied in the termination, and used 
in a more extensive sense, like Venedotia. The Ko- 
mans comprehended the Gwyndydians in the more 
general name of Ordovices. i\vved, Gwyr, and Cere- 
digion are Dimetia Proper, or Pembrokeshire, Gower, 
and Cardiganshire. Pendaran -was ,a peculiar title of 
the Prince of Pyved, and is so used in the Mabiu- 
ogion.] 

XXI. The three Sovereigns by vote of the Isle of 
Britain: first, Caswallawn. the son of Lludd, son of 
Beli, son of Mynogan. Second, Caradawg, the son 
of Bran, son of Llyr Llediaith. Third, Owain, the 
son of Maesen ^Vledig : that is, sovereignty was as- 
signed to them by the voice of the country and people, 
when at the time they were not elders. 

* Arch, of Wales, vol. ii. p. C-i. Tr. 10 — '20. 

I 264) 



TUK TRIAD.S, 265 

[Wo h.'tve the toHtirnony of Caesar, that Oas.sivel- 
launuH or Caswallawn was thus olocto'l. Soo J>f;ll. 
Gall. 1. 5, c. 9. Caradawg, horc rnontioned, wa.s the 
colobratcd Caractacus, who bo gallantly opposed the 
Ptornan power in the time of the Ernperor Claudiiis. 
1'acitus describes him as one, "quern multa ambirrua, 
multa prospera extulorant, ut c;«toros JJritannoriim 
imperatores prfriminoret." Annal. 1. 12, c. 88. He 
is farther noticed in tbe Triad.s as one of the " three 
good persecutors of the Isle of Jiritain," on account 
of his lonrr and successful annoyance of the Jiomans. 
Llediaith, applied in this 'J'riad to Llyr, implies one 
of imperfect or barbarous speech, which was probably 
some peculiarity caused by his intercourse with the 
Komans. There may be some doubt, wliether Macsen 
Wledig was Maximus or Maxentius. His son Owain 
had a dignified rank in the Jiritisli History, but he is 
not to be found in the Jioman.] 

XXII. The three Holy Familif.s of the Isle of 
liritain: the family of liran the Blessed, the son of 
Jilyr Llediaith, who was that Bran, who brou;.4it the 
faith in Christ first into this island from liome"^ where 
he was in prison, through the treachery of AregAvcdd 
Voeddawg, the daughter of Avarwy, tbe son of Lludd. 
Second, the family of Cunedda Wledig, which first 
granted land and privilege to God and' the saints in 
the Isle of Britain. The third was Brychau Bry- 
cheiniawg, who educated his children and grand-chil- 
dren in learning and generosity, so as to enable them 
to show the faith in Christ to the nation of the Cyrnry 
where they were without faith. 

[liran was the father of Caradawg or Caractacu«, 
mentioned in the preceding Triad, and, upon the defeat 
of hjs son by the Boman General Ostorius, he and hig 
family accompanied him as hostages to Home. It is 
not improbable, therefore, that, upon his return to 
Britajn, he may have had the glory of first introducing 
Chnstmnity into this island.^ Aregwedd Voeddawg 
was tlifi Boadicea of the liomans. She has also been 
23 



266 THE TRIADS. 

tlioun;lit to be the same "with Cartismandiia, mentioned 
by Tacitus, as queen of the Brigantes ; but there 
appears no affinity between the names. Cunedda was 
a chieftain of the North Britons, probably durins: the 
fifth century, when he is said to have retired to Wales 
with his cliildron, in consequence of the incursions of 
the Saxons. Brychan also lived during the fifth cen- 
tury, and was one of the supreme sovereigns of Ireland. 
He came with his family to Wales, and settled in Garth 
Madryn, which from him was afterwards called Bry- 
cheiniawg, wiience the name of the present Breckock- 
shire. His children are said to have been four-aud- 
twenty in number : he died about A. D. 450. 

XXIII. The three Guests of Benign Presence of 
the Isle of Britain: Dewi, Badran, and Teilaw. They 
were so called, because they went as guests into the 
houses of the noble, the yeoman, the native and the 
stranger, without accepting either gift, or reward, or 
victuals, or drink ; but what they did was the teach- 
ing of the faith in Christ to every one, without pay or 
thanks; besides, to the poor and the needy they gave 
gifts of their gold and their silver, their raiment and 
their provisions. 

[Dewi, mentioned in this Triad, is the same person- 
age with the celebrated St. David, though many par- 
ticulars are introduced into the popular account of the 
Saint, which do not belong to the genuine history. 
From this, as we find it in the Cambrian Biography, 
it appears that St. David, who lived in the fifth cen- 
tury, was a native of Pembrokeshire, and the son of 
Sandde ab Cedig ab Caredig, son of Cunedda Wledig, 
of whom some account has just been given. St. David 
was originally Bishop of Caerlleon in Gwent or Mon- 
mouthshire, at that time the metropolitan church of 
AVales. a distinction, which, from his interest with 
Arthur, Sovereign of Britain, he procured to be trans- 
ferred to Mynyw, since called, from him, Ty Dewy, 
and, in English, St. David's, to which place he accord- 
inalv removed. St. David is celebi-ated for having. 



THE TRIADS. 267 

about the year 522, in a full Synod, lield at Llan 
Dewi Brevi, in Cardigansliirc, confuted the l*elagian 
Heresy, at that time prevalent in the country.* lie 
is said to have died at a patriarchal age about the 
year 542, after having exercised his spiritual functions 
for 05 years. And he is described as having united 
to extraordinary knowledge a great shaie of personal 
accomplishments. t lie Avas the founder of several 
churches in South Wales ; where there are nineteen, 
that were originally dedicated to this Saint, besides 
those that have, in later times, adopted his name. 
St. David is farther recorded in the Triads as Primate 
of the Welsh Church during the sovereignty of Arthur, 
and also as one of the three canonized Saints of Bri- 
tain. Padarn and Teilaw were also Bishops and 
cotemporarics of St. David, and, with him, have ever 
been considered as among the most distinguished Saints 
of Wales. There are several churches in South Wales 
dedicated to both of them. Padarn, who came over 
from Llydaw (Armorica) with Cadvan, first instituted 
the collegiate church of Llanbadarn Vawr ; and Teilaw 
was the founder of the college of Llandav, afterwards 
converted into a Bishopric, and which the Welsh still 
call "Esgobaeth Teilo."J 

XXIV. The three Treacherous Meetings of the Isle 
of Britain. The meeting of Avarwy, the son of 
Lludd, with the disloyal men, who gave space for land- 
ing to the men of Borne in the Narrow Green Point, 
and not more, and the consequence of which was the 
gaining of the Isle of Britain by the men of Rome. 
Second, the meeting of the principal men of the 
Cymry and the Saxon claimants on the mountain of 
Caer Oaradawg, where the Plot of the Long Knives 
took place, through the treachery of Gwrtheyrn 
Gwrthenau ; that is, through his counsel, in league 

'■■ See Camden's Britannia, Gibson's Edition, p. 041 — 643. 
t See the " History of i'embrukcabire/'' in the Cambrian 
Kegistor, vol. ii. p. 203. 



268 THE TRIADS. 

■with the Saxons, the nobility of the Cymry -were 
nearly all slain there. Third, the meeting of Me- 
drawd and Iddawg Corn Prydain with their men in 
Nanhwynain, -where they plotted treachery against 
Arthur, and consequently strength to the Saxons in 
the Ish^ of Britain. 

[The first event, recoi'ded in this Triad, is confirmed 
in a singular manner by Civsar, in the account he gives 
of his second landing on this island. The Narrow 
Green Point, here mentioned, was in the Isle of 
Thanet. Civsar indeed attributes the want of opposi- 
tion, which he experienced on this occasion, to the fear 
excited by the multitude of his vessels and the formi- 
dable character of his armament ;* but it is quite 
as probable, that it "was owing to such a cause as is 
commemorated in this Triad. Avarwy, or Avarddwy 
Bras, as he Avas also called, was, no doubt, that Man- 
dubratius, a chief of the Trinobantes, whom Ciesar 
expressly notices as having deserted the Britons and 
come over to him in Gaul some time before his second 
invasion, a circumstance that well accords with the 
narration here given of his treacherous conduct. The 
cause, assigned by the Roman historian for this act of 
Mandubratius, is the murder of his father by Caswal- 
lawn or Cassivellaunus.f Avarwy is also recorded in 
the Triads as one of the three disgraceful men of 
Britain. The Plot of the Long Knives, or Ticyll y 
Cylh/U Hirion, to which allusion is here made, is suf- 
ficiently known from other sources. It took place 
about the year 4Ti!, when Ilengist, ha-ving invited the 
British chiefs, to a conference on Salisbury Plain, 
caused tliem all to be treacherously assassinated. This 
sanguinary deed is generally supposed to have been 
perpetrated within or near the celebrated structure of 
Stonehenge. Cuhelyn, a bard of the sixth century, is 
said to have written a poem expressly on Hengist's 
Massacre : and Taliesin has been thought to allude to 

* Bell. Gall. 1. 5, c. 8. f Id. ibid. 



THE TRIADS. 269 

it in his Song on the Sons of Llyr.* A custom is still 
retained in Wales of kindling fires [Coelcerthi) on No- 
vember eve as a traditional memorial of this plot, 
though the practice is of older date, and had reference 
oi-iginally to the Alhan Elved, or New Year. And it may 
have been at the celebration of this festival, or of some 
similar one, that Hengist's treacherous assembly was 
holden.f Medrawd, who lived in the sixth century, 
is recorded in several Triads for this act of baseness. 
It was his usurpation of the sovereign power in the 
time of Arthur, and his confederacy with the Saxons, 
tliat occasioned the battle of Camlan, in 542. Iddawg 
Corn Prydain, who conspired Avith Medrawd in this 
treacherous action, afterwards embraced a religious 
life ; and his name is to be seen in the Catalogue of 
the Welsh Saints.J] 

* Arch, of Wales, vol. i. p. 6G. 

t In the Chronicle of Tjsilio the Conference is said to have 
taken place on May-day, which was the time of the great Dru- 
idical Meeting. 

X See Arch, of Wales, vol. ii. p. 45, where ho is called Iddew. 

23* 



THE TRIADS.— No. VI. 



TRIADS OF THE ISLE OF BRITAIN*. 

XXV. The three Avrant Traitors of the Isle of 
Britain : Avarwy, the sou of Lhidd, the son of Beli 
the Great, "who invited Iwl Caisar and the men of 
Kome into this ishind, and caused the oppression of 
the Konians ; that is, he and his men gave themselves 
as conductors to the men of Rome, receiving treasure 
of gold and silver from them ever}'' year. And in con- 
sequence it hecame a compulsion on the men of this 
island to pay three thou.sand of silver yearly as a 
tribute to the men of Rome, until the time of Owain, 
the son of Macsen Wledig, when he refused that 
tribute ; and, under pretence of being contented there- 
with, the men of Rome drew the best men of the Isle 
of Britain, capable of being made men of war, to the 
country of Aravia, and other far countries, and they 
returned not back. And the men of Rome, that were 
in the Isle of Britain, went into Italy, so that there 
Avere of them only women and little children left be- 
hind ; and in that way the Britons were weakened, so 
that they were unable to resist oppression and con- 
quest, for want of men and strength. The second was 
Crwrtheyrn Gwrthenau, who, after killing Constantino 
the Blessed, and seizing the crown of the island, 
through treason and lawlessness, lirst invited the 
Saxons into this island, as his defenders, and married 
Alis Ronwen, the daughter of llengist, and gave the 
crown of the Island to the son he had by her, whose 
name was Gotta, and on that account it is that the 
kings of London are called children of Alis. Thus by 
the conduct of Gwrtheyrn the Cymry lost their lands, 

* Arch, of "Wales, vol. ii. p. 62, Tr. 21—28. 
(270) 



THE TRIADS. 271 

and their privilege, apd their crown in Lloegr. The 
third was Mcdrawd, the son of Llcw, the son of Cyn- 
varch ; for, when Arthur loft tlie crown of the Isle of 
Britain in his custody, whilst ho wont against the Em- 
peror in Home, tlien Modrawd took the crown from 
Arthur through treason and seduction ; and, so that 
he might preserve it, he confederated with the Saxons, 
and hy reason thereof the Cymry lost the crown of 
Lloogr, and the sovereignty of the Isle of Britain. 

[The events of which this Triad treats are so fully 
detailed, as to rc<[uire but little illustration. And this 
becomes the less necessary as the same occurrences 
were noticed, though not with the same minuteness, in 
the last Number of the C/VMiuio-BiUTON.* An addi- 
tional opportuT)ity, however, presents itself here to 
refer to the coniiruiation, which these memorials re- 
ceive from the ancient classical and other writers. 
The tribute, above mentioned to have been paid by the 
Britons, is expressly noticed by Cicsar, who, in speak- 
ing of his departure from the island after his second 
invasion, has the following passage: — "Obsides im- 
perat, et quid in annos singulos vectigalis populo Ilo- 
m.ino Britannia penderet constituit ; interdicit atque 
imperat Cassivellauno, ne Mandubratio neu Trinoban- 
tibus helium faciat."'j' This extract furnishes also an- 
other proof of the treacherous conduct of Avarwy, or 
Mandubratius, as imjuited to him in tlie Triads. A 
short notice respe(;ting (Jwrtheyrn, or Yortigcrn, was 
given in a fornu;r Number ;| and, with respect to the 
action here related of him, although passed in silence 
hy some ancient authors,^ it is particularly detailed by 
Nennius, who describes Jlengist as having inveigled 
A'^ortigcrn into this marriage while under the influence 

* Sno p. 207, Triad XXIV. and the Aiinotatioiis. 

flkdl. CJall. lib. V. c. 22. 

JNo. 2, p. 248. 

§Amori<); tho.so who ascribe tlio conquest of the TJritons to 
force and not artilicc, are (iildas, I5('dc, and the writer of the 
Saxon Chronicle, who nuiko no mention whatever of Alls lion- 



iilli THE TRIADS. 

of intoxication, and as liaYing obtained from him in 
oonsiilovation of it tlio Province of Kent. Constan- 
tino the l>lossod, in Welsh Cystemivn, appears in the 
]n'itish Ohronick" as the 80th King of Britain about 
the year o90, when the Komau dominion in this 
country Avas fast approaching to its ck>so. There is a 
church in Arvon, dedicated to Cystcnnyn. It may be 
proper to mention here, that two other copies of this 
Triad ,are preserved in the Archaiokigy *, one much 
more diiVuse than this, and dilYering from it in some 
particuhvrs, and the other considerably shorter than 
either.] 

XXVI. The three Secret Treasons of the Isle of 
Britain : first, the betraying of OaradaAvg, the son of 
]>ran, by Aregwedd Voeddawg, the daughter of Avarwy, 
tb.e son of Lludd, and delivering him a captive to the 
Komans ; the betraying of Arthur by Iddawg Corn 
Brydain, who divulged his plan : and the betraying of 
the Brince Cu-utVydd, the son of Llewelyn, by Madawg 
Min. And from these thive treasons there followed 
compkte subjection of the nation of the Cymry : and 
nothing but treachery could have subdued them. 

[An allusion was made in Triad XXII. in the hist 
Xumber to tlu^ " Secret Treason," here ascribed to 
Aregwedd Voeddawg ; and we find the same account 
given by Tacitus, if indeed Aregwedd and Cartisman- 
dua be the same person.f The historian, in describing 

won, oalloil by tho Saxons RoAvona. On tho other hand, the 
aooount, as tnuismitttnl by tl»o Triad and Nonuius, is als*.^ do- 
tailod by AVilliam of Malmosbury and Oaradog of IJancarfan. 
And thoy have boon followed by Ihunplirey IJwyd, Oanidon, 
:5nd Vorstosran. Thus, tho balanoe of authorities seems to bo iu 
favour of the tradition above recorded 

* Vol. ii. p. 4, and 10. 

■j- It has been before nMnarkod (Xo. 5. p. C(>o.^ th.nt thero is 
no roson\blanee between tho names of An^ijwodd Voeddawg 
and Cavtlsmandua, while there is a strong atSnity between tho 
former and Hoadieea. However, tho oircumstauoos. related of 
Canismandua by Taeitus. seem to acoorvi exactly Avith those 
asoriboil bv tho Triads to Aro^rwodd. 



THE TRIADS. 273 

the comluct of Caradawg or Oaractacus after his defeat 
by Ostorius, says, " Cum lideni Cartismandnro, rcginse 
JJrigantuin, pctivlsset vinctuy ac victoribus traditus est 
110110 post anno quam belhini in]3ritannia coeptum."* — 
The treachery of Lhlawg Corn Prydain Avas noticed in 
tlie hist number. Madawg Min, here mentioned, was 
I)ishop of Bangor in the beginning of the eleventh cen- 
tury. The treasonable action, recorded of him in thia 
Triad, is not the only one "vvith which his memory has 
been charged: he is also accused of having, by his 
treacherous artifices, occasioned the death of Llewelyn 
ab Sitsyllt, father of Gruflydd.] 

XXVII. The three Brave Sovereigns of the Isle of 
J>ritain: Cynvelyn Wlcdig; Caradawg, the son of 
Bran ; and Arthur. That is, they vaiu[uished their 
enemies, so that, except through treachery and plotting, 
they could not bo overcome. 

[Cynvelyn Wledig, mentioned in the British Chroni- 
cle as the 08th King of .Britain, is the Cunobelinus of 
the Roman writers. He most probably succeeded 
JMandubratius as Chief of the Trinobantes, and he also 
governed the Novantcs and Cassii. The conquests, 
made by this ]'riuce, rendered him the most powerful 
in the southern part of Britain, and well entitle him to 
the epithet bestowed upon him by this Triad. He died 
about A. D. 40, leaving, according to Suetonius, three 
sons, but, according to the Jjritish History, two only, 
Gwydyr and Gweirydd. It was the refusal by the 
former of these to pay the customary tribute to the 
K-oinans, that is said to have occasioned the invasion 
of this island by Claudius. It had been punctually 
discharged by Cynvelyn. There are few to whom the 
name of Arthur is not familiar. But the Arthur, com- 
memorated above, is a very different character from 
the hero of Romance of the same name, and who per- 
forms so important a part in the Mubiuogion, although 
they are generally confounded together in the popular 

* Annal. L\]x xii. c. 36, 



274 THE TRIADS. 

account. The Arthur. of liistory, who perhaps took 
his appellation from the other, was the son of Meirig, 
a Prince of Glamorgan, in the beginning of the sixth 
century. About the year 517 he was called by the 
States of Britain to the supreme command, for the 
purpose of opposing the Saxons, whom, according to 
Nennius, he defeated in twelve battles, llis success- 
ful career, however, was at length brought to a close 
by the treachery of Medrawd, already recorded, which 
produced, in 64'2, the battle of Camlan, so fatal to the 
Britons, and which terminated at once the life and 
the glory of Arthur. This chieftain is celebrated by 
Tailesiuy ^lerddin, and Llywarch, who were his cotem- 
poraries.] 

XXVIII. The three primary Battle Princes of the 
Isle of Britain : "Casswallawn, the son of Beli ; 
Gweir^-dd, the son of Cynvelyn Wledig ; and Ctu-a- 
dawg, the son of Bran, the son of Llyr of Barbarous 
Speech. 

[An account has already been given, in the course 
of these illustrations, of the chieftains who form the 
subject of this Triad.] 

XXIX. The three Fair Princes of the Isle of 
Britain : Rhun, the son of Maelgwn, Owain, the son 
of Urien, and Khuvon Bevr, the son of Dewrarth 
Wledig. 

[Ivhun succeeded his father Maelgwn as nominal 
Sovereign of the Britons, and reigned over Gwyncdd 
from oGO to 5SG : he will be found described in another 
Triad as one of the Golden-banded Sovereigns of Bri- 
tain. Owain was cotemporary with Rhun, and is com- 
memorated elsewhere as owner of one of the three 
steeds of desperation. Rhuvon BevT was likewise of 
the same period. In another Triad* he is called 
Bhuawn Bevr, the son of Dorarth Wledig. He fell in 
battle, and his body is said to have been purchased by 
its weight in gold, for which reason he is also recorded 

* Arch, of Wales, vol. ii. p. 6. 



THE TRIADS. 276 

as one of the three golden Qorpses. Ilywel, son of 
Owain Gwyncdd, has the following lines on this l*rince : 

Ton won orowyn :i orwlych bcchl ; 
Gwyddva llhuvon Buvr, ben teyrncdJ.*] 

XXX. The three Plebeian Prinees of the Isle of 
]>ritain : Gwriad, thq son of Gwrien, in the North; 
Ca(Uivael, the son of Cynvedw, in Gwynedd ; and 
llyvaidd Ilir, the son of Saint Bleiddan, in Morganwg. 
That is, sovereignty was given thcin for their renowned 
exploits and virtuous ([ualitics. 

[These three i*rinces lived also during the sixth cen- 
tury, a period Avhich appears to have, been pregnant 
with men of renown, whether as Princes or Poets. 
Gwriad bore a part in the famous battle of Cattraeth, 
■which forms the subject of the Gododin. Cadavael, 
who had the surname of Wyllt or Wild, is consigned to 
disgrace by another Triad, as having inflicted one of 
the "three heinous hatchet blows," whereby he caused 
the death of lago ab Beli, Sovereign of Gwynedd. In 
other copies of this triad Gwriad and llyvaidd arc de- 
scribed somewhat differently. f Put this is a circum- 
stance in no way affecting the general authenticity of 
these ancient documents. On the contrary, the trivial 
variations, which they occasionally exhibit, remove all 
suspicion as to any forgery or contrivance in their 
compilation. There are three copies of the Historical 
Triads preserved in the Archaiology.] 

* "A -whito wavo, mantled with foam, sprays over a grave, 
The tomb of'Khuvon the Fair, chief of princes." 

t Arch, of Wales, vol. ii. p. 17. 



THE TRIADS.— No. VII. 



TRIADS OP THE ISLE OP* BRITAIN.*^ 

XXXI. The throe Banded Tribes of the Isle of 
Britain : the tribe of Ciiswallou liaw Ilir ; the tribe of 
llhiwallon, the son of Uricn ; and the tribe of Belyn of 
Lk\Yn. That is, thoy •\vere so named, because there 
■was neither lieaJ nor sovereign over them, so far as 
the ])riviU'go of their families and territory extended, 
if they ■were questioned Avitliin such limits, but the voice 
of tlie country and people prevailed. 

[CaswalhiAvn Law llir, or Caswallawn with the Long 
Hand, was Sovereign of North Wales from •44;> to 517, 
when he died, after a reign of 74 years. Rhiwallon 
lived also in the early part of the sixth century ; and 
Belyn about a century later. Other copies of this 
Triadf relate the circumstances thus. " The three 
]xinded Tribes of the Isle of Britain : the tribe of 
Caswallon Law llir, who put the fetters of their horses 
on their feet by two and two in fighting with Serigi 
Wyddel (Serigi the Irishman) at Oerig y Gwyddyl 
(the Stones of the Irishmen) in Mon ; and the tribe of 
Khiwallon, the son of I'rien, in lighting with the Sax- 
ons ; and the tribe of Belyn of Lleyn in fighting ■with 
Kdwin at Bryn Ceneu (Bryn Edwin) in Khos. Tiie 
privilege, thus acquired by the three chiefs hero named, 
secured their exemption from all superior jurisdiction 
:?ave that of the jury of the country or national inqui- 
sition.;};] 

* Arch, of Walos, vol. ii. p. 02-^. Tr. 27—33. 
t Id. ib. p. I'i ami 10. 

J The words iu the original are " rhaitli gwlad," which were 
explained in Xo. 4. p. '2o6. 



THE TKIADS. 277 

XXXII. The three Golden-banded Ones of the Isle 
of Britain : Rhiwallon Wallt Banadlcn ; Rhun, the son 
of Maclgwn ; and Oadvvaladr the Blessed. That is, it 
was given them to wear bands of gold about their arms, 
and about their necks, and about their knees ; and 
thereto was attached the privilege of royalty in every 
country and territory of the Isle of Britain. 

[Rhiwallon Wallt Banadlcn, or Rhiwallon with the 
Broom Hair, lived about the middle of the sixth cen- 
tury, and is celebrated in another Triad as one of the 
'•' three men most distinguished for their knowledge of 
natural history." Rhun succeeded his father Maclgwn 
in the Sovereignty of North Wales about 5G0, and 
reigned till 58() : he is also called one of the " three 
immaculate Princes of Britain." Cadwaladr was the 
last nominal King of the Britons. Jlc abdicated the 
throne in 080 and retired to Brittany, fjom whence he 
wx'nt ultimately to Rome, where he died in 703. It 
was, in all probability, his dedication to a religious life at 
the latter place, that gave him the epithet of "blessed," 
appropriated to him in this Triad. There are two 
churches consecrated to Cadwaladr, one in Denbigh- 
shire, and the other in Anglesey. The following ex- 
planation of the names, here applied to these chieftains, 
occurs in the two other copies of this Triad.* " Those 
men were so called gold banded ones, for that no 
horses could be obtained suitable for them on account 
of their size, so that golden bands were put round their 
ankles over the haunches of their horses behind them, 
with two pans of gold under their knees; and hence 
the knee-pan was so named." From this explanation 
it does not appear, that the "golden biuids," mentioned 
in this Triad, were of the same nature with the torch 
or torques, so generally worn by the ancient Britons 
as a mark of distinction. Indeed the expression in the 
original is hualogion, which means strictly "golden 
fettered;" whereas aurdorchocjion Avould have been 

* Arch, of Wales, vol. ii. p. 5 and 17. 
24 



278 THE TRIADS. 

used to designate the wearers of golden cliains. This, 
therefore, is not the proper opportunity for offering 
any remarks on that ancient custom. 

XXXIII. The three Cavaliers of Battle of the Isle 
of Britain : Caradawg with the Brawny Arm, and Llyr 
the Ai-mi potent, and Mael ab IMcnwed of ArUechwedd. 
And Arthur sang to them the following englyn : — 

Sef ynt fy nhri Chadfarchawg, 
Miiel llir a Llyr Lluydilawg, 
A eholofu CYUiry Caradawg.* 

That is to say, they wore the best of all battle horse- 
men : and therefore dominion and power were given 
them as they chose. And it was their disposition to 
do nothing but what Avas discreet and just, to whatever 
country or power they came. 

[Caradawg, here mentioned, was a Prince of the 
Cornish Britons during the sixth century, of -svliich 
period were also Llwyr and Mael. They were all three 
likewise cotemporaries of Arthur, and fought in his 
battles, as may be inferred from the enc/h/n here quo- 
ted, and which, in all probability, was added by some 
ancient annotator.] 

XXXIV. The three Generous Princes of the Isle of 
Britain : llhydderch the Generous, the son of Tudwal 
Tudelud ; and Mordav the Generous, the son of Ser- 
van ; and Nudd the Generous, the son of Senyllt. 
Their principles were, that they failed not as to any- 
thing in the world whatsoever to such as besought it, 
whilst they possessed it, or could obtain it by gift, or 
loan, or present ; whether sought by friend or foe, 
relative or stranger. 

[Rhyddcrch, who is frequently celebrated by the 
old poets for the quality here ascribed to him, was a 
Prince of the Strvadclyde Britons during the early part 
of the sixth century. He signalised himself as a war- 

* These are my throe Cavaliers of Battle, 
Mael the Tall and Llyr the Aruiipotent, 
And that Pillar of my Oymry Caradawg. 



THE TRIADS. 279 

rior on several occasions. Mordav and Nudd were 
contemporary with Rhyddcrch : the latter was de- 
scended in a direct line from Maxen Wledig, the 
Emperor Maximus or Maxentius, according to the 
Chronicle the 79th King of Britain at the close of the 
fourth century.) 

XXXV. The three Crimson Spotted Ones of the 
Isle of Britain: Arthur, Morgan the Courteous, and 
Rhun the son of Bcli. When they went to war, no 
one Avould remain at home, so greatly wei-e they be- 
loved ; and there was neither war nor conflict, but 
they were victorious in it, where there was neither 
treachery nor ambush, and therefore came the pro- 
verb, "The three men, who made men wherever they 
went, were Arthur, Morgan the Courteous, and Rhun 
the son of Beli : the three people, who made men 
wherever they came, were the men of Arthur, the 
men of Morgan the Courteous, and the men of Rhun 
the son of Beli." 

[According to Caradog's History, Morgan, here 
mentioned, was a Prince of Glamorgan during the ninth 
century. And he is stated to have died in 1001 at the 
advanced age of 129 years, having lived to see the do- 
minions, which he had abdicated, enjoyed both by his 
children and grandchildren. Some account of Arthur 
was given in the Jast Number.* The chieftain here 
called Rhun, if he be not the same that is mentioned in 
the last Triad but one, was the great-grandson of Mael- 
gwn. Prince of Gwynedd, and must have lived in the 
beginning of the seventh century. In the other'copies 
of this Triad, Llew Llawgyfes, who lived in the fifth 
century, supplies the place of Arthur, who is, however, 
made supreme over the other three for the distinction 
conferred on the chieftains here mentioned. The 
epithet " crimson-spotted," here used, is, Ave may sup- 
pose, synonymous with "blood-stained." The word 
in the original is rhuddfanogion.'\ 

* Sec page 273. 



'280 'I'liM 'iniADS. 

XXXVL The tliroo Hostile Ovatcs of the Isle of 
Hritiiin : (Jrcidiawl the lli)8tile Ovate, luul Eiivacl the 
son of Adran, and Trystan the son of 'i^ilhvch. And 
they luul the j)rivil('i;;e (hat none eould oppose them, 
wheresoever they Avisluul to ijo in the Isle t)f Jiritain, 
so that- they did not ^o uniiiwi'ully. 

I It is dillienlt to siiy preeisely what is meant hy the 
term, hero rendered: "• hostile ovate." Tho Welsh 
word is <falt>J'i/dd, whieh will also bear tho interpre- 
tation of " regnlator of hostility." Gal means liter- 
ally a slran<:;er or enemy (for the terms were anciently 
synonymous); and ofiidd was the ai>])ellation given 
to one of the orders of Bardism.* (}<il(>f//<hf nuiy, 
iheri'fore, imply one of those privileged heralds, be- 
longing to a strange tribe or nation, who, as we fmd 
\'vou\ tlH> (\mvention-Tri».ds of l>yvnwal Moelnmd, 
had. under the civil constitutions of the Cymry, a 
right ()f unohstrueted progression throngli rfhe coun- 
try, exaetly ns statc^l in this Triad. The three 
persons, here named, all lived about the sixth cen- 
tury. '.Prystan, who is eomnuMuorated in several other 
Triads, is tlu> same personage with Sir Tristram, 
liero of \\w Ivomanee of that name Avritten by Tho. 
of Kreildum. I In the two other copies of this Triad 
(Jwgon (5wron, also a chief of the sixth century, is 
substituted for Mnvaid and with the greater appear- 
ance of being correct. | 

WWII. The three Obstructors of Slaughter of 
the Isle of IW'itain: (IrutbuMi, I leiiben, and Acilenawi' ; 



* Tho O/j/dd or Oratr was oinnltarn-nlly tln> Toot ol" tho 
Hurdio Svstoin. Tiio Institutional Triads dosoriho liis poouliar 
t'nnotion to ho thi> oxoroisi< of political };'oniiis. IStrnho and 
Aniniianus !\laro(>llinus niak(> i>;u'(ioulai" niontion ot" tlio Onitt' 
ns ono oi' ti>t> tiu-i>o Uniiilical xn-ih-rs : anil honoo, most nroha- 
hly, was dorivod tlio \'iif,s oi' tlio Itonians. Tlio oilioo of lioraUl 
was oxprosslv assijinod to tlio (If'i/iitliou ilurinf»- thoir tliroo 
^voars' prohation provious to thoir uiliuission into tho higher 
oniors of Hardism. 

t Mr. ^^'alto^ Soolt has rooontlv published a new Edition of 
this ohl Jxomanoo. 



Till'] TRIADS. 281 

and tlicir qualities -were, that they went not out of 
battle and war but on their biers, when they were not 
able to move either rni<^er or tonjijuo. 

[It appears, fVom all that can now l_)e learnt of these 
Avarriors, that they were sons of Gleisiar, a chieftain 
of the JMortiiern !>rilons about the close of the fifth 
century, a period, whicli c:illed forth the martial oner- 
•fies of that people in a peculiar manner, from tho 
frequent contests to which they were exposed with 
the Saxons and Picts. The other copies of this Triad 
<^ive them tlie (lesi;i;iiM,tion of the "three brave ones," 
an expression perfectly consistent with the more re- 
markable one here adopted. ] 



THE TRIADS.— No. VIII. 



TRIADS OF THE ISLE OP BRITAIN.* 

XXXVIII. The three Conventional Monarchs of 
the Isle of Britain : first, Prydain, the son of Aedd 
MaAvr, when a systematical regality was established 
over the Isle of Britain and the adjacent islands; 
second, Caradawg, the son of Bran, when there was 
conferred upon hlni the war-supremacy over the whole 
of the Isle of Britnin, to resist the incursion of the 
Romans ; and Owain, the son of Macsen Wledig, when 
the Cymry resumed the sovereignty, agreeably to 
their nntural rights, from the Roman Emperor. That 
is, they were called the three Conventional Monarchs, 
from these rights being conferred upon them by the 
convention of country and boarder-country, within the 
whole limits of the nation of the Cymry, by holding a 
convention in every territory, commot, and cantrev 
in the Isle of ]5vitain and its adjacent islands. 

[According both to C;vsar and Tacitus, and particu- 
larly the latter, the inhabitants of this island, upon 
their discovery by the Romans, consisted, like the 
Gauls and Germans, of several independent tribes 
governed by their own chiefs. Yet, when influenced 
by the prospect of a general advantage or a common 
danger, these separate states bccinne united in one 
body. Upon these occasions a chieftain or monarch 
was chosen from amongst a convention of the whole 
country as stated in this Triad. f It was thus, that 

* Arch, of AV ales, vol. ii. p. 03 Tr. 34—30. 

f One of the Institutional Tiiads of Dyvn^Yal Moelnmd (Arch, 
of Wales, vol. iii. p. lIUO, Tr. 59) describes particularly how 
this convention was hdldou, ami in his Triodd \j Cludau, before 
noticed, it is reckoned as one of the " three conventions by 
sound of trumpet." See Arch, of Wales, vol. iii. p. 283. 
(282) 



THE TRIADS. 288 

Caswallawn was elected to the supreme command 
against Caesar, Caradawg against the Romans in the 
time of Claudius,* and Arthur against the Saxons. 
And "\ve have here Prydain and Owain recorded as 
two other conventional monarchs of the Isle of Britain. 
The former of these is a very remarkable personage 
in the annals of the Cymry: yet writers are not per- 
fectly agreed, whether to assign to him a real or a 
fabulous character. According to the Triads, however, 
he was the son of Aedd Mawr or Aedd the Great, one 
of the first colonists of this island : and he is recorded 
in several of these ancient documents, one of which 
has been already translated,'}" as among the chief of 
the ancient benefactors and lawgivers of his country. 
From the same authority we also learn, that the Isle 
of Britain derived its name from him. Mr. Davies 
seems to consider Prydain to mean the Regulator of 
the Seasons, and consequently as synonymous with 
Apollo, or, at least, with the Sun^ But the Triads 
make no allusion to any mythological attributes, but 
speak of him in every instance as having had a real 
existence. The dignity, here said to have been con- 
ferred on Caradawg and Owain, has been before 
noticed. § Owain lived at the close of the fourth cen- 
tury and is to be found amongst the saints of the 
British Church.] 

XXXIX. The three Hallowed Princes of the Isle 
of Britain : Bran the Blessed, the son of Llyr Lle- 
diaith, who first brought the faith in Christ to the 
nation of the Cymry from Rome, where he had been 
for seven years, as hostage for his son Caradawg, 
whom the men of Rome carried into captivity, after 
being betrayed, tlirough the enticement, deception, 
and plotting of Arcgwedd Voeddawg ; second, Lleirwg, 
the son of Coel son of Cyllin the Saint, called Lleuver 
Mawr [Great Splendour], who founded the first church 

* See Cambro-Briton, No. 5. p. 168, Tr. xxi. 

t No. 2, p. 241. X Celt. lies. pp. 1G9 and 190. 

§ No. 5, p. 2C5. * 



284 THE TRIADS. 

in Llandav, and >Yliich was the first in the Isle of Bri- 
tain, and he bestowed tlie privilege of eountry and 
nation, Avith eivil and ecelesiastieal jurisdietioii, upon 
those who might be of the faith in Christ ; thii'd, Oad- 
waladr the Blessed, who gave sanctuary within all his 
lands and possessions to those who fled from the infidel 
and lawless Saxons, wlio sought to destroy them. 

[The ciroumstanees, here related of Bran, have been 
already detailed in a 'Priad previously translated,* in 
v.hieh his family is styled one of tlio "three holy 
families of the Isle of Britain." The Jioncdd y Saint, 
or Gtenealogy of the Saints, also mentions Bran as one 
of the first of the nation of the Cymry, that embraced 
the Christian faith, and enumerates three persons, Hid, 
Cynvan, and Arwystli lien, as having accompanied 
him from Bome on his return to this country : and 
there is still a church in (.iwent dedicated to the former 
of these three. The probability, therefore, of this 
account is very great: and it is remarkable, that Bishop 
Stillingfieet, in his' On'iiiiws Bn'tannica', conjectures, 
without being aware of the testimony of our ancient 
records, that some of the British captives, carried to 
Kome Avith Caradawg, may have been instrumental in 
planting Christianity in this island. The present 
Bishop of 8t. David's too, in one of the many works, 
by which he has promoted the cause of useful and re- 
ligious learning,t is even disposed to conclude, that 
St. Paul himself accompanied or immediately followed 
the family of Caradawg on their return to Britain. 
This event took place about the year 58: and, with 
reference to this date, it deserves to be mentioned, 
that (lildas fixes the introduction of Christianity into 
Britain at a short period before the defeat of Boadicea, 
which happened A. D. Gl. LleirAvg, the son of Coel, 
and, according to the Genealogy of the Saints, the 
great grandson of the celebrated CaradaAvg, appears in 

* No. 0. p. -JCo. 

t " Christ and uot St. Potor the Rock of the Christian 
Cluirch," p. 14. 



THE TRIADS. 285 

the Brut y BrenJiinoedd or Chronicle of the Kings, 
under the name of Lies, as the seventy-third king of 
Jiritahi. Bede and other writers give him the appel- 
lation of Lucius, "vvhich is but a Latin version of the 
epithet Lleuver, applied to him in this Triad. Before 
he founded the church of Llandaff, as here mentioned, 
he is said to have made application to Rome for 
teachers to diffuse the light of Christianity in his do- 
minions, when two persons, called in the Welsh records 
Dwyvan and Fagan, were dispatched to Britain for 
the purpose. Nennius ascribes this event to the year 
of Christ 1G7, when, he says, " King Lucius with all 
the chiefs of tlie British people received baptism in 
consequence of a legation sent by the Roman Em- 
perors and Pope Euaristus."* Bede fixes the date at 
A. D. 15G, which, however, according to the Brut y 
Benhinoedd., was the year of Llcirwg's death in the 
city of Gloucester. There is a church in Glamorgan 
dedicated to Lleirwg, Avho, like others of his country- 
men in ancient times, united the characters of a prince 
and a saint. An opportunity occurred in the last 
numberf for giving a general, though brief, account 
of Cadwaladr : and the particulars, here recorded of 
him, require no further explanation.] 

XL. The three System-formers of Royalty of the 
Isle of Britain : Pi-ydain, the son of Aedd Mawr, 
Dyvnwal Moelmud, and Bran, the son of Llyr Lle- 
diaith. That is, their systems were the best systems 
of Royalty of the Isle of Britain, so that they were 
judged superior over all other systems, that were made 
in the Isle of Britain. 

[This Triad requires but little elucidation. Enough 
has just been said of Prydain and Bran : and a short 
notice of Dyvnwal Moelmud appeared in a former 
Number.| The latter is to be found in the Chronicle 
as the tAventy-first king of Britain, more than three 

* According to other accounts, the Pope, or rather Bishop 
of Rome, at this time, was Eleutherius. 
t P. 277. t No. 2, p. 24.3. 



286 THE TRIADS. 

centuries before the Christian era. Of an age so re- 
mote it cannot be expected that much certain intelli- 
gence should now remain. However, it is pretty 
generally admitted, that this prince Avas amongst the 
first to make any great improvement in legislation, 
and that he made the first regular division of the king- 
dom into hundreds and commots, for which reason he 
is here styled one of the "three system-formers" of 
Britain. His laws Avere extant in the time of Gildas, 
who translated them into Latin. Hywel Dda, as men- 
tioned on a former occasion, availed himself largely 
of them in the compilation of his famous code; and 
they are also presumed to have been of great service 
to Alfred the Great, to whom they were communicated 
by Aser Menevensis. Some Triads, including the 
Institutes, ascribed to Dyvnwal, are preserved in the 
Archaiology of Wales, and contain much curious 
matter with respect to the principles of government in 
an incipient state of society.] 



THE TRIADS.— No. IX. 



TRIADS OF THE ISLE OF BRITAIN.* 

XLI. The three Arrant Drunkards of the Isle of 

Britain : Ceraint the Drunkard, King of Essyllvvg, who 
in his drunkenness burnt all the corn far and near over 
the face of the country, so that therefrom a famine 
came ; second, Gwrtheyrn Gwrthenau, who gave the Isle 
of Daned [Thanet], in his drink, to Hors [Hoi'sa], for 
permission to commit adultery with RhonAven, his daugh- 
ter, when he gave claim also to the son, that thereby 
might be born, upon the crown of Lloegr, and added to 
that treason and plotting against the nation of the 
Cymry ; third, Seithenyn the Drunkard, the son of 
Seithyn Saidi, King of Dyved, who, in his drink, let the 
sea over the Cantrev y Gwaelawd, so that there were lost 
of houses and earth the whole that were there, where 
formerly were found sixteen fortified towns, superior to 
all the towns and cities of Wales, (leaving as an excep- 
tion Caer Llion upon Wysg :) and Cantrev y Gwaelawd 
was the dominion of Gwyddnaw Garanhir, King of 
Ceredigion ; and that event was in the time of Emrys 
Wledig ; and the men who escaped from that inunda- 
tion landed in Ardudwy, and the country of Arvon, 
and the mountains of Eryri, and other places not before 
inhabited. 

-^ [We have no other memorials of this Ceraint. Ess- 
yllwg was, as before mentioned, another name for 
Siluria. The treacherous conduct of Gwrtheyrn or 
Vortigern, above detailed, has been already alluded to. 
In the Archaiology of Wales, vol. i. p. 165, there are 

* Arch, of Wales, vol. ii. p. 64. Tr. 37—44. 

(287; 



288 TUR TRIADS. 

some verses on the inundation of Oantrev y Gwaelawd, 
or the Lowhind Hundred, composed by Gwyddnaw 
above mentioned, who had a pahice in this district. 
The remains oF three ancient stone embankments are 
still traceable, severally called iSani Cj/nrelj/n, iSanif/ 
Jiicc/i, and iS'arn Padruj. The latter is particularly 
conspicuous, beinj^ left dry at low water to the extent 
of about nine miles ; and the sailors of the neighbour- 
ini^ ports describe its whole length to be twenty-one 
miles, beginning near Harlech, and running out in a 
S. W. direction.*] 

XLll. The three Humble Princes of the Isle of 
Britain: Manawydan, the son of l^lyr Llediaith, after 
the carrying into captivity of the family of Bran ab 
Llyr, his brother; and Llywarch Hen, the son of 
Elidir Llydanwyn ; and Gwgon Uwron, the son of 
Eleuver Oosgorddvawr. These three were bards; and 
they sought not for dominion and royalty, after they 
had attached themselves to song, while they could not 
be debarred therefrom : so it was on that account they 
are called the three Humble Brinces of the Isle of 
Britain. 

[The wandering of Manawydan, who was a l*rinco 

* Mr. Davios, in liis "]\rytholo»y finil Ritos of tlio Druids," 
(p. 240 (■/ .v('(^.) disoussos at some K>nj;'th tlic liistory of t\\\» ovont, 
as riH'ordod ii> tlio Triad ; and witli liis usual liappy talent of 
turniui:; history into fal>Io, lio throws a voil of mythological ob- 
scurity over the wholo account. In a word, lu' supposes it to 
bo no nioro than a pcrvortod incniorial of the Deluge, and says, 
that the "landing upi)u the uu)uutains of Snowden is like tho 
binding of Heucalion upon IMouut rarnassus." Eut the Triad 
merely says, that those "avIio escapeil the inundation, landed in 
Ardudwy in the country of Arvon and the mountains of Snow- 
■ don," which, surely, can only mean the vicinitij of the moun- 
tains, and not on liieir siinimtts. Allowing, therefore, all duo 
weight to the ingenuity of JMr. Davis's hypothesis, it is clearly 
at variance with the written documents on this subject, and, 
what is perhajKs of greater in\portanoe, with the trailition of 
the country. Sonic ol>servations on this occurrence may 1)0 
seen in ]Mr. Edward Williams's "Lyric Poems," vol. i. p. 78, 
and also iu tho Cambrian Register, vol. ii. p. 4'Jl). — Ei). 



THE TRIADS. 289 

of Siluria, is the subject of one of the talcs of the Ma- 
binofijion. He is described in another Triad as one of 
tlie " tliree chiefs who had jifohhni cars," and as liaving 
gone in his car to settle tlio boundaries between his 
territory and Dyved. Llywarch lieu has been intro- 
duced to the reader's notice in the eighth number, 
(jiwgon Gwron is said to be the son of Peredur, the son 
of Elcuver Gosgorddvawr, in the other two series of 
Triads. Arch, of Wales, vol. ii. p. 4 and 15.] 

XLIII. The three Monarchs of Deivr and IJrynaich : 
Gall, the son of Dysgyvedawg; and Difedel, the son 
of Dysgy ve<lawg ; and Ysgavnell, the son of Dysgy- 
vedawg. These three were bards; and, after they liad 
attached themselves to song, they had conferred upon 
them the monarchy of Deivr and Brynaich. 

[In the first series of Triads, p. 4, of the second 
volume of the Archaiology, the father of these three 
Princes is called Dyssyvndod ; and in the second series, 
]). 1-5, he is named JJisgyvndawd. in another 'i\iad 
the three brothers are recorded as having achieved the 
" three ])raiseAVorthy slaugliters of the Jsle of Pi'itain." 
Deivr and Jirynaich are De'ira and l>ernicia.] 

XLIV. The three Kuddy-speared Uards of the Isle 
of Britain: Tristvardd, the bard of Urien Khoged; 
Dygynnelw, the bard of Ovvain ab Urien ; and A van 
Verddig, the bard of Cadwallon ab Cadvan. They 
were three bards; and they couid not bo S((p;ira,tcd. 

[I'he second sei'ies of Triads, Arch, of Wales, vol. 
ii. p. 18, has Arov;in, the bard of Scleu ab Oynan, in- 
stead of Tristvardd, the bard of Urien. The reason 
of those bards being thus distinguished was, that, ac- 
cording to the bardic system, the members were not 
aHowed to bear arms.] 

XLV. The three yupreme Servants of the Tsle of 
Britain : Carada,wg, the son of Jiran ub lilyr Lodiaith ; 
and Oawrdav, the son of (Jaradawg Vi-eichvras ; and 
Owaih, the sou of Macsen Wledig. That is, they were 
so called, for that of their free will all the men of the 
Isle of Britain, from the prince to the slave, became 
25 



290 THE TRIADS, 

their followci'S, at the need of the country, against the 
progress of the foe and devastation ; and Avhenevev 
these three men went to war, there was not any one of 
the men of the Isle of Britain but wouki go in their 
retinue, there being no desire of remaining at home ; 
and these were three bards. 

[The names only are given in the two other series 
of Triads, without any explanation of the distinction 
here conferred on them ; and in the second series, p. 
12, the Triad runs thus — " The three Supreme Ser- 
vants of the Isle of Britain : Gwydar, the son of Rhun 
ab Beli ; and Owain ab JNIaxen Wledig ; and Cawrdav, 
the son of Caradawg." Enough has already been said 
of Caradawg son of Bran, and of Owain in former 
numbers. Cawrdav was a wai*rior of distinction during 
the sixth century ; but the particulars of his exploits 
are no longer known. There arc two churches dedi- 
cated to him, one in Arvon, and the other in Gwent.] 

XLVI. The three Fetter-wearing Kings of the Isle 
of Britain : Morgan Mwynvawr, of MorganAvg ; Elys- 
tan Glodrydd, between Gwy and Ilavren ; and Gwaith- 
voed, King of Ceredigion. That is, they were so 
called, because they wore fetters in the exercise of all 
the functions of sovereignty in the Isle of Britain, and 
not bandlets, or crowns. 

[Morganwg is Glamorgan ; Gwy and HaATen, the 
"NY^^e and Severn ; and Ceredigion is Cardiganshire. 
The custom of wearing golden fetters or bands Avas 
common to the ancient chieftains of Britain, as we 
learn from another Triad before translated.*] 

XLVII. The three Bandlet-wearing Kings of the 
Isle of Britain : Cadell, King of Dinevwr ; Anarawd, 
King of Aberfraw ; and Merwyn, King of Mathraval. 
They were also called the three Bandlet-wearing Prin- 
ces. 

[Cadell, Anarawd, and Mcrvyn were sons of Rhodri 
Mawr, or Koderic the Great, who succeeded to the 

* See Caiiuro-Briton, No. 7, p. 2-il, Triad XXXII. 



C THE TRIADS. 291 

sovereignty of Wales in 843. On his death, in 877, 
he divided the Principality between the three sons 
here named, giving to the first Deheubarth, to the 
second Gwynedd, and to the last Powys. Bynevwr, 
Aberfraw, and Mathraval were the royal palacea of 
these divisions respectively : but the first of these, the 
seat of Lord Dynevor, is the only one that retains any 
vestige of its ancient celebrity.] 

XL VIII. The three Foreign Kings of the Isle of 
Britain : Gwrddyled Gawr ; and Morien Varvawg ; 
and Constantino the Blessed. 

[We have no memorials as to the first two names, 
unless they be the same as are mentioned in the Go- 
dodin. An account of Constantino has already been 
given.*] 

* No. G, p. 271. 



THE TRIADS.— No. X, 



TRIADS OP THE ISLE OP BRITAIN.* 

XLIX. The three Arrant Traitors, who Avere the 
cause, by means vlicreof the Saj*:ons took the crown 
of the Isle of Britain from the Cyiury. One was 
Gwrgi Garwhvyd, who, after getting a taste for the 
llosh of men in tiic court of Edoltled, King of the 
Saxons, liked it so much that he would eat nothing hut 
lunnan ilosh ever after ; and, therefore, he and his 
men united themselves with EdclUod, King of the Sax- 
ons, so that he used to make secret incursions upon the 
nation of the Cymry, and took male and female of the 
young, so many as he ate daily. And all the lawless 
men of the nation of the Cymry gathered to him and 
the Saxons, where thoy might obtain their full of prey 
and spoil, taken from the natives of this Isle. The 
second was INledrawd, who gave himself and his men 
to be one with the Saxons, for securing to himself the 
kingdom against Arthur ; and bv reason of that 
treachery great multitudes of the Loegrians became 
as Saxons. The third Avas Aeddan the Traitor, of the 
North, who gave himself and his men, within the limits 
of his dominions, to the Saxons, so as to be enabled to 
maintain themselves by confusion and anarchy, under 
the protection of the Saxons. And because of those 
three Arrant Traitors the Cymry lost their land and 
their crown in Loegria : and, if it had not been for 
such treasons, the Saxons could not have gained the 
Island from the Cymry. 

[This Triad, and the one that follows, contain the 

* Arch, of Wales, vol. ii. p. Co. Tr. 45, 46. 
(292) 



THE Till ADS. 293 

only notice that occurs in the pcnisiil of British re- 
cords, of Ciinnibahsin being known in tiie Island. The 
name of Owiyi implies a ciumibiil ; for wrf/i Gar- 
wlwijd is literiilly the roxujh brown dog-man. The 
reader is already ac(|uainted with the iiistory of Me- 
(h'awdfrom former Triads.* Aeddan, here mentioned, 
is also recorded in a Triad called the " three extermi- 
nating Slaughters," as having ravaged the territory 
of llliyddercii the Generous, the chief of Alclwyd, 
tlie present Dunbarton. According to Merddin, a 
battle was fought between llhyddereii and Aeddan at 
Ardei'ydd in Scotland, in -which the former was victo- 
rious. This battle, wiiich has been fixed at A. D. Gil, 
is called in the Triads one of the "three frivolous 
battles," because it originated about a lark's nest. 
The name of Aeddan occurs also in the Gododin.] 

L. The three men, who were Bards, that achieved 
the three good Assassinations of the Isle of Britain. 
The first was Gall, the son of Dysgy vedawg, who killed 
the two brown birds of Gwenddolau, the son of Ceidio, 
that had a yoke of gold about them, and they devoured 
daily two bodies of the Cymry at their dinner and two 
at their supper. Tlie second was Ysgavnell, the son 
of Dysgyvedawg, Avho killed Edelfled King of Loegria, 
who required every night two noble maidens of the 
nation of the Cyrary, -and violated them, and the fol- 
lowing morning slew and devoured them. The third 
was Difedel, the son of Dysgyvedawg, who slew Gwrgi 
Garwlwyd, that was married to the sister of Edelfled, 
and committed treason and murder conjointly with 
Edellled upon the nation of the Cymry ; and that 
Gwrgi killed a male and female of the Cymry daily 
and devoured them; and on the Saturday he killed 
two, that he might not kill on the Sunday. And these 
three men, who achieved the three good Assassina- 
tions, were Bards. 

[Triad XLllI, in No. 10, gives a farther account of 

* No. 5, p. 2G8. 
or. * 



294 THE TRIADS. 

these three Bards. Triad XXVIII. of the second 
series in the Arch:uolo,<;y, page 13, says that the birds 
of Gwenddohiu guarded his treasures of gohl and 
silver, instead of the gohlen yoke. Gwenddohui is 
frequently mentioned by JNIerddin in his AfaUannaii^ 
and appears to have been the bard's patron. He 
fought on the side of Aeddan in the battle of Ar- 
derydd, above alluded to, and in which he was slain. 
There may be some improbability in the circumstances 
detailed in this Triad ; but it does not therefore follow, 
that the gross practice it records had no foundation in 
fact. The vices, monstrous and barbarous as they 
seem, may have existed, though the manner in which 
they were displayed, has been exaggerated.] 



A PLEA 



PllESEKVATlON OF THE WELSil LAiNGUAGE. 



Till'] thi'oe indispcnsables of language: purity, co- 
piousness, and aptness. 

The three ways, ■whereby a hinguage may be 
rendered copious : by diversifying synonymous words, 
by a variety of compounds, and by a multiformity of 
expression. 

The three qualities, wherein consist the purity of a 
language : the intelligible, the pleasurable, and the 
credible. 

The tlirec supports of language : order, strength, 
and synonymy. 

The three correct qualities of language : correct 
construction, correct etymology, and correct pronuncia- 
tion. 

The three uses of a language : to relate, to excite, 
and to describe. 

The three things that constitute just description : 
just selection of words, just construction of language, 
and just comparison. 

The three things appertaining to just selection: the 
best language, the best order, and the best object. 

The three dialects of the Welsii language : tJie Ven- 
tesian or Silurian, the Dimetian, and the Venedotian. 
And it is allowable in poetry to use all of them indis- 
criminately, agreeably both with the opinion and 
authority of the primitive bards. 

(295) 



296 PRESRVATION OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 

- I am indebted for most of the thoughts contained 
in this article to an unknoAvn -writer whose production, 
in the Welsh language, appeared in the '■'■ Drycli," in 
1851. The translation is bj no means a literal trans- 
lation, as it has been attempted to give a turn to the 
subject more congenial to the Englisli reader's ear, 
and more especially adapted to the genius and feelings 
of the American. No violence whatever is done to 
tlie original in any departure from its spirit ; and the 
translator feels very sure that many of the descendants 
of Gomers children, who from circumstances have 
necessarily lost the use of tlicir mother tongue, will be 
glad to be told, how venerable for its antiquity, how 
famed for its poetic beauties and copiousness, and to 
how extensive a portion of the world's surface the 
language of their forefathers has heretofore served as 
the vehicle of thought and communication. 

" I desire not to see the extinction of any language, 
if it can be avoided, because from the origin and pro- 
gress of languages we best learn the history of nations, 
together with their migrations from one country to 
another. Languages tend to confirm the history of 
nations, and not unfrcquently are the only monuments 
left us of the revolutions which a people may for ages 
have passed through, but who may have left no written 
records behind them."* Such is the view and the 
estimate of the far-famed Dr. Johnson on the value 
and preservation of all languages, as given by him in 
a letter he wrote in reference to printing the Bible in 
the Gaelic language. In the present day there is, 
perhaps, less diversity of opinion on the subject of pre- 
serving the language and literature of a people than 
there was when Johnson lived. One of the greatest 
of the advocates for the extinguishing of the Welsh 
language, by law, made this concession, that, " how- 
ever insignificant a language may be, it ought not to 
be neglected !" But wo venture to go farther than 

* Anderson's Historical Sketches of the Native Irish, p. 135. 



PKESEKVATION OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 297 

this, and say that every language should be cherished 
and cultivated, especially if it contain writings worthy 
the study and attention of the learned, or while its 
perpetuation is essential to the comfort and happiness 
of the people who use it. Wc intend in a brief essay 
to show that our language, the Welsh, has these claims 
to protection and cultivation. And, first, we assert, 
that ignorance alone has presumed to state that the 
Welsh language contains no literature worthy of atten- 
tion and of preservation. Wc have nearly two thou- 
sand manuscript works, containing select remains of 
the writings of authors through every century, from 
the fifth downwards ; and in the later productions of 
the Welsh press we have a compendious selection of 
these authentic writers, in order, under the title of 
" Archaiology of Wales." The Welsh were indis- 
putably a literary people when the surrounding nations 
of Western and Northern Europe were in comparative 
ignorance. No stronger proof of this fact ought to be 
demanded than is found in the Triads, to which we 
beg to refer, on which account these ancient apoph- 
thegms cannot be otherwise than interesting to the 
historian and antiquarian. These embrace the only 
correct account of Britain's earliest history. They 
describe the various early tribes of its inhabitants, 
their forms of government and laws, their towns, &c. 

We may view tlKim also in the light they have shed 
upon our true origin, since l)rought from their conceal- 
ment. Prior to their publicution, tlic generality of 
the Welsh possessed but a confused notion of their 
ancestry, or their own history. " Geofiry of Mon- 
mouth" had led them to believe in the fabulous adven- 
tures of Brutus ab Sylvius, coming from Troy — many 
a Welshman was taught to trace his genealogy through 
I'riam, Jupiter, and Saturn, and so on up to Gomer 
himself. The Triads, however, have dissipated all 
this traditional romance, and have brought to light 
the arrival and the history of " Hu the mighty," with 
his peaceful followers. The world was long deluded 



298 PRESERVATION OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 

by tlic groundless fabrications of the Monks of Glas- 
tonburg, respecting the first introduction of the gospel 
into Britain. They insist that "Joseph of Arimathea" 
first published the strange fact that the Saviour Jesus 
Christ, ■who was sacrificed and buried, had become the 
death of deaths. Others will have it that the apostle 
Peter and others again give the converted persecutor 
of Tarsus the honour of having first planted the peace- 
ful banner of the Lord Christ upon " the white cliffs 
of Britain." Thus the matter in dispute, though of 
some importance, as a point of history, lay hid in 
doubt from age to age. Ecclesiastical Historians 
dreamed not of " The Triads of the Welsh !" In 
these faithful Chronicles, however, the truth is found — 
and their testimony established beyond dispute — by 
comparing the record they bear with Roman history. 
It is proven that " Bran ab Lluo," and the " blessed 
captivity" that accompanied him, were the chosen re- 
sults to convey the gospel treasure to our forefathers. 
It is fairly inferrable from the history and circum- 
stances, that they were fellow prisoners with Paul ; 
and in all probability through his ministry they re- 
ceived " the truth Avhich maketh free." It may be 
truly asserted that the English of the present age 
"vvould have known but little of their own history and 
progress, had it not been for Welsh historians. The 
same is true respecting the Irish and their history — 
both civil and ecclesiastical. Is not this an argument 
for the preservation of the Welsh language, if there 
were none other ? 2dly. We feel indebted to our 
language for many of the traits of a national character 
Ave bear. Nations, lowest in the scale of ethics and 
philosophy, boast their prowess and their conquests : 
and the same spirit is seen in those more civilized. 
If a measure of vain glory appear in this it admits of 
one excuse — that is, it indicates a deep patriotism. 
There is not a single European nation can boast so 
remote an origin, or take a retrospect of their past 
history without a blush, as the Welsh. Though 



PRESERVATION OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 299 

bold and daring to defend tlieir rights, they loved 
peace. Their love of peace led them to forsake their 
beloved Ddeffro Cain to dAvell in Britain ; and during 
twelve hundred years, in which they defended their 
rights by the sword, they never carried their arms to 
invade the rights of others, and to plant their banner 
upon walls they had never raised. Oppression alone 
excited them to the battle field. The last to repair to 
it, they were the last to quit it. Through every form 
of treachery and intrigue they stood erect, and scorned 
every foreign yoke.''"' Contention and intestine divi- 
sions, it is true, at length subjected them to the power 
of enemies : yet though reduced, they continued un- 
bendingly to resist — uniformly opposing the payment 
of the tribute laid on them. 

Time at length brought them a Kulcr — in the per- 
son of the Earl of Richmond, who won their hearts — 
since when, who were more peaceable subjects, more 
faithful to their rulers ? How many nations have been 
swallowed up and disappeared in the time since " Hu 
the Mighty" led his tribes across the seas to Britain's 
shores, till then unknown ? — and their very remem- 
brance is passed away as a dream ! Where are the 
mighty kings, and their kingdoms, who in their day 
shook the world, and it trembled under their power ? 
We interrogate history : Tell us hoary registrar of the 
grave ! Could not the conquests of power — could not 
the institutions, based on the wisdom and knowledge 
of all ages, preserve such nations from sinking into 
oblivion 'i The answer is. No ! The Assyrian and 
the Chaldean empires supposed these things would 
eternize their names : but lo ! ages have slept upon 
the ruins of Nineveh and Babylon. Where also is 
ancient, imperial Rome, with her towering Latin lan- 
guage, covering half the known world ? Ah ! her 
sceptre is departed : that sceptre which ruled a world 

* " The Britons, who never bowed their necks to foreign 
yoke."— Yalde7i. 



800 PRESERVATION OF THE "WELSH LANGUAGE. 

for ages ! the throne of the twelve Ctesars was trodden 
under foot by the Goths. Where is Carthage ? A 
foreign semi-barbarous race trample on the dust of 
Hannibal. The very names of all these nations, as 
such, are known no more on earth The Welsh, as a 
nation, had a cotemporary, independent existence, when 
all these named powers existed in all their magnifi- 
cence and splendor. The Welsh continue to exist: 
their name remains unchanged, and their inherent 
charactci'istics remain unchanged. What has pre- 
served them in existence and unchanged while the 
waves of oblivion have swept over nations much more 
powerful ? If they lost their independence, they 
yet retainc<l their ;iame, and their characteristics, 
almost pure — and this, most assuredly, by their ad- 
herence, their unswerving adherence, to the language, 
and the customs of their fathei-s. When their breth- 
ren dwelling in Cornwall, just in sight of them, neg- 
lected their vernacular tongue, they soon lost all 
else that distinguished them as belonging to the AVelsh 
family. 3dly. The simple habits and primitive man- 
ners of the Welsh have often called forth the praise 
of strangers. In the lapse of time it frequently hap- 
pens that Ave hear certain epithets applied to nations 
of people, indicative of certain qualities or characters 
they exhibit. Thus the brave Englishman, the shrewd 
Scotchman, the cute Yankee, &c., but we hear the 
Welshman alone designated honest. " The honest 
Welshman" being a proverbial expression. The sim- 
plicity of manners we here allude to, forms no small 
ingredient in the happiness of the Welsh people. As 
a community, they live in great contentment with 
their humble fare, their innocent enjoyments, and their 
mountain homes. We believe that should they suffer, 
the loss of their language, which is a complete defence 
against all foreign intercourse, they would at the 
same time sujQfer a great decline in their unsophisti- 
cated manners and habits, and would become much 



PIIESEIIVATION OF TlIK WELSH LANGUAGE. 301 

more exposed to the immoral influences, and conse- 
quent ills which surround them. 

It has been considered as one of the earliest signs 
of the decline of Roman greatness, that their youth 
neglected their own language, feigning to be enam- 
oured of, and aiming to speak the Greek — Juv. Sat. vi. 
They soon became enervated, and their effeminacy, 
rather than the incursions of the Vandals, hastened 
their conquest and their downfall. The loss of the 
Welsh language would tend to a great change in the 
harmless lives and manners which now mark the in- 
habitants of their peaceful* hills and valleys ; and which 
render the principality a quiet and safe abode to dwell 
in. 4thly. As a nation, we love to remember each 
other, and to sympathize with each other ; but what 
in the social state forms the firmest bond, that binds 
the different classes and conditions of society together, 
that makes a nation one, like a common language, and 
that the language of our fathers and our mothers? 
The maddened builders of Babel could be united till 
their language was confounded : when that event befel 
them, they soon became a dispersed people. A still 
enlarged intercourse among the varied classes of the 
Welsh people, in their vernacular tongue, is the best 
protection it is capable of receiving, will best strengthen 
the bond of national feeling, and will assuredly increase 
that supremest happiness of nations, no less than of 
individuals — unity and brotherhood. 5thly. We hold 
our affection toward each other and toward our coun- 
try in the highest estimation, and believe we can apply 
in all itB force and meaning, the language Goldsmith 
has applied to the mountain inhabitant of Switzei'hind, 
to our OAvn feelings, when separated from our own 
"sweet home:" 

" Dear is that shed to which his soul conforms, 
And dear that hill which lifts him to the storms ; 
And the loud torrent, and the whirlwind's roar, 
But bind him to his native mountains more." 

26 



802 PRESERVATION OP THE WELSU LANGUAGE. 

This is not more true of the Swiss than it is of the 
native Welsh. To the enemies of our beloved lan- 
guage, -vve would say, in the mournful plaint of the 
man Micah, of Mount Ephraim, "ye have taken away 
our (dearest possession,) and what have we more?" 
Take away this, and you take away the pillar of our 
characteristic simplicity and our innocence ; what 
would remain to the native Welshman ? Only his 
craggy heights — -his brown-clad hills — a country and a 
people shorn of their greatest pride, their highest 
valued boon, and that which has tended so essentially 
to elevate their character — -their language ! But the 
consideration above all others, why the Welsh language 
should be preserved and loved, arises from the striking 
fact that half a million of the inhabitants of Wales 
employ it as the onlij medium of intercourse. It is 
the channel through which their religious and their 
general knowledge come to them. They aim not — and 
from the zeal and fervency of their attachment to their 
own — they seem not to desire an acquaintance with 
the Entirlisli tonirue. From the time when the Welsh 
were subdued to English power and English laws by 
the first king Edwards, eft'orts have been made, and 
sometimes enforced by kingly and parliamentary edicts 
for the suppression and extinction of their language. 
And not only have such laws been promulgated, eccle- 
siastical power, public threatenings and secret intrigue 
have all been set to work for the same purpose, but all 
in vain. 

The language of Gualtier Mechain, in one of the 
late Bardic conventions in Wrexham — " The enven- 
omed arrows of the enemies of our native tongue have 
recoiled upon themselves. The Welshman had only 
to turn his face and smile." Instead of signs of decay, 
our lancuasje is exhibitina; all the tokens of a new 
spring-time of life — literally it is " bringing forth in 
old age." It is understood, spoken, and written, more 
generally and more correctly than has been seen for 



PRESERVATION OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 303 

ages past. "Ofl'iis Dyke," considered tlic line of sepa- 
ration between the two people, and betwixt the Welsh 
and English tongues a thousand years ago, continues 
only as the line of demarcation in our own day. 
There arc localities, not a few, where the Welsh, and 
the Welsh only, is used on the English side of the 
" Ditch." Thus the great body of our nation are 
found to continue firmly attached to the language of 
their fathers ; and, since three hundred years of op- 
pression, and three hundred more of comparative 
neglect of it, have left it in existence, and strengthen- 
ing with its age, so shall another six hundred years of 
similar treatment — should it bo doomed to meet it — 
only augment and increase the Welshuum's adherence 
to his beloved, and, as he thinks, most euphonious and 
musical mother tongue. We discover then, that it is not 
the work of an age to blot out of existence a language 
such as the Welsh : even should it be accomplished 
ever. And here an important inquiry suggests itself, 
Avhat would bo the condition of the nation — of the 
multitude — while the great transition was being 
wrought? Hundreds of years must elapse in the ex- 
periment, ere the half million of inhabitants scattered 
over the hills and valleys of Wales should acquire the 
knowledge of a new language. What in this great 
hiatus of time shall they do ? Shall generation after 
generation go down to the grave without a single in- 
struction olfercd them in the language they under- 
stand ? " Nothing," says the pious and learned Bishop 
Heber, " tends more to shackle and fetter all original 
genius and talent, than to neglect or discourage the 
vernacular language of a country." This would be no 
less than one of the " woes" of the Welsh people, 
should either power or malice ever succeed in withhold- 
ing from them the teachings their circun)stances, as 
well as their aspirations always proni])t to, through the 
only channel they love, their own language. They 
"would sink to a condition of moral darkness and degra- 



304 TRESERVATIOX OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 

dation now unknown among them. See a proof of 
this, in the neglect and consequent results of neglect- 
ing the native Irish. It is said that nearl3»- three mil- 
lions of the Irish population, understand only the 
Erse : there is scarcely a book ever printed in that 
dialect, it receives no attention or cultivation, and not 
an effort is made to render it a medium of information 
to those who use it. The result, as might be expected, 
is, that in those portions of the country where the 
Erse only is spoken, there the greatest insubordination 
and disregard of order and law constantly prevail. 
Superstition and disorder spread their wings over their 
wide vales, cruelty and murder whet their daggers in 
secret. Their nights they devote to plunder and 
spoil — the flames of burning dwellings yielding them 
light — while the moans of their victims is the music 
in which they revel. Is it asked, Avhat in modern 
times has made the difference, so wide, of improvement 
in the principality of Wales, while Ireland is become 
"a habitation of dragons?" No other, or no better 
reply can be returned to this inquiry than that one 
great cause of the disorders and miseries of Ireland is 
the entire destitution of the means of knowledge in 
their own tongue, and the attempts made by comjjul- 
sory measures to force upon them a language and cus- 
toms they have a perfect dislike of. This tended to 
degrade, and finally to render them cruel and barbarous. 
It is then an important and powerful reason why the 
Welsh language should receive the attention and pro- 
tection we plead for it, to preserve us from so much 
to be dreaded a doom ! 

This is the surest, perhaps the only means of im- 
provement on which we can rely, the preservation and 
love of our language ; it ministers essentially to our 
comfort and happiness in the present life, and is more 
especially conducive to that formation of character 
which shall prepare for the future and better life, after 
death. But let those who would extinguish our lan- 
guage, yet further consider the consequences of their 



PRESERVATION OP THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 305 

presumption. Is it so, that they would have the Welsh 
tongue proscribed till our population had all learned 
English ? Would they banish it from our churches, 
our schools and our J>iblcs ? and thus deprive half a 
million of immortals of the bread of life, because, for- 
sooth, the homely vessel from which they obtain it, is, 
in their vietv, too plain and unadorned, and thus rob 
the children of affliction and sorrow of that only solace 
which sweetens the cup of life, enshrouding even the 
grave with clouds and darkness ? I^et such dreamers 
blush, and dream no more of reducing to barbarism a 
nation of such people, with a shallow and vain promise 
of benefiting their posterity, hundreds of years hence ! 
Tthly, Some objections to the preservation of the Welsh 
language, not yet noticed, must now be presented. 
§lst. The opponents arc so kindly disposed to say, 
they do not design the extinction of the language en- 
tirely, they would have it preserved and cultivated as 
a dead language. We thank them for their tender 
mercies ! But if we have shown that the comfort and 
happiness of our nation rests, very greatly, upon its 
unviolated continuance among them, we consider the 
objectors fully replied to. Further, if they evince so 
little regard for the thing living, could we expect an 
increased respect for it when dead ? § 2d. It is argued 
that all the subjects of a government should use but 
one language, for the convenience of business, and the 
administration of justice in its courts. It is admitted 
that this were very desirable. It were more desirable 
even that all the wor*ld were of one language ; but 
who shall dare reverse the ordinances of divine Pro- 
vidence. While we allow that there is difficulty in 
dispensing public justice, where the judge, prisoner, 
witnesses, jurors, &c., may be of different languages, 
yet, can no course be arranged for the removal of 
these difficulties, less objectionable, and less repulsive 
than the abolishing the language of our fathers ? 
Should not men be selected for all these offices who 
were skilled in both the languages required? or, at 
26* 



306 PRESERVATION OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 

least, why not establish competent interpreters in all 
courts of law, or elsewhere ? the supposed difficulties 
would all he removed by a process, thus simple and 
practicable. It is well known that the laws of Eng- 
land were administered in all the courts of En_£;land, 
and for the English people, in Norman French, for 
hundreds of j^ears, yet no one moved for the extinction 
of the English language, that the people might learn 
that of, the law. § od. We will quote the late Mr. 
Walters, a superior scholar, in reply to those who insist 
we should change our native tongue, for the facilitating 
of business and trade. He remarks, " Whether it be 
of more importance to a few moneyed merchants, and 
a few shrewd speculators, that there should exist one 
or more languages in this country (Great Britain), is 
an inquiry beneath the notice of the patron of its 
literature and languages ; inasmuch as the personal 
aggrandizement of such minority, is of vastly less im- 
portance than the temporal and everlasting interests 
of mjaiads of the people." § 4th. It is frequently 
asserted that our common people, the poorer classes, 
would have been much advanced in the arts and in 
morals, if the English language had been the lan- 
guage of the country ; because, says the objector, the 
boundless fields of intellectual wealth, in that lan- 
guage, would have been within the reach of the Welsh. 
We demur entirely to this statement, and reply, that 
the number, in any country, who apply themselves to 
these things, no matter how great the advantages, is 
so small, that the statement i^ of little or no force. 
In our midst, indeed, there is scarcely a child who may 
not receive the elements of an English education, in 
almost every locality in the country ; nevertheless, the 
loved Welsh is the language of the hearth and of the 
family. As to our peasantr}^, and others of 07ie speech, 
the}"^ are not a whit more ignorant than their English 
neighbours in similar circumstances. True, that in 
large manufacturing towns and cities, circumstances 
throw the illiterate and rude into the society of the 



PRESERVATION OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 307 

more refined and polished ; here the untaught may 
appear to some advantage placed beside our mountain 
herd ; yet we venture the assertion, that a Welshman 
taken from the sides of the wild Snowdon and measured 
by any standard of intelligence with an Englishman, 
taken from the fens of Lincolnshire, the Welshman we 
say, would not sufier at all in the comparison. 

The highly praiseworthy eiforts of all parties in the 
establishment of Sabbath and Day-schools combined, 
have left hardly a cottage in all the country without 
its readers ; and we almost risk the assertion, that 
there is found as great a number of persons who can 
read among the poor in Wales, as among an equal 
number in any other country. If we are yet urged to 
forsake, or neglect our native language because there 
are no learned writings in it, and embrace the English 
because such writings abound in it. We should pause 
and inquire whether there be no danger in the experi- 
ment. Like our first parents, tve might pay a price 
too dear for our knowledge. The " freedom of the 
press" is in every country a blessing above all price, 
yet the number is not small among the best of citizens 
in all countries where the blessing is known, who de- 
plore its abuse, who meet at every turn — either to the 
eye, or to the ear, the glaring proofs of this abuse in 
the caricature or the travestying of everything solemn 
and sacred. If the Welsh native then is debarred the 
advantages of some knowledge because he is restricted 
to the use of his native tongue, it is most certain he 
stands uncontaminated' by the disorganizing produc- 
tions of Hetherington, and the little less than blas- 
phemous writings of Carlyle. The book-shelf of the 
Welsh cottager, moreover, is not literally sterile and 
barren : he has the choice of some fifteen or twenty 
monthly and weekly periodicals ; besides these, his 
native language is enriched by eight or ten commen- 
taries on the whole, or on important portions of the 
sacred Scriptures. The language abounds in works — 
many of them ably translated — others original, on 



308 PRESERVATION OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 

nearly every scientific subject. The native press, 
hitherto, has pursued a course unharmed by the ob- 
scurities and ribaldry of the English, their neigh- 
bours; long, long may it continue that course. Irreli- 
gion and scepticism have found no response to their 
advances in it yet. The Avide-spread licentiousness of 
■works in the English language — ^Yorks that mock at 
the hopes and consolations — temporal and eternal — 
of their readers, of authors who qua If the cup of sensu- 
alism, and dissolve the pearl of the gospel in the 
draught — men \Yho, Avhile they don the sacred man- 
tle of freedom and liberty, betray her holy claims by 
hiding the wedge in the folds of their garments. 

These invaders of human peace and happiness have 
permitted but few countries to escape their debasing 
and destroying iniluences, but Wales only ! "What has 
operated as a barrier to prevent the poisonous streams 
of their atheistic and peace-destroying principles from 
minglinn; with the Avaters of the Dee and the Severn ? 
The only reply is, our native loved langunge has saved 
us. The desolating torrent never reached Wales — the 
language has arrested its course — the bands of sceptics 
and troublers, not knowing the language of our moun- 
tain homes, found it necessary to abandon and leave 
us in possession of our quiet. In an age of rebellion 
and disquiet, when rival princes struggled for the as- 
cendancy, the Welsh as a people showed all fidelity. 
From the time a prince descended from one of their 
own race — a grandson of Owen Tudor — ascended the 
throne of Britain, peace and quiet has marked their 
history. In times of peril, of scarcity and want, when 
large portions of Britain have been convulsed with fear- 
ful agitations and internal dangers, the Welsh peasant 
has carrolled forth his contentment and happiness, 
while he turned his furrow, leaving his cares to Him 
who rides upon, and rules the storm and calm. At 
various periods, when the very foundations of the Social 
Fabric shook, and threatened to fall, what preserved 
quiet and peace in Wales ? We repeat it, it was to bo 



PRESERVATION OV THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 309 

attributed mainly to tho native language. This was 
an invulnerable dcfoiice against the attacks of" the dis- 
organizers. Eut i'ew^coiiiparatively, among tho native 
Welsh, were cognizant ot" the enemy and his evil designs, 
and that few possessed too large a share of the virtue- 
loving principle, and the fear of God to lend them- 
selves as instruments of evil and disorder. In all wo 
have written and said, we disavow the least intention 
of wishing to persuade any from acquiring a knowledge 
of the English language. It contains treasures above 
all price. Our ai^n ik to prove that the largest measure 
of comfort the Welsh peojjlo can enjoy, is connected 
with the preservation and cultivation of their own 
tongue, and that they would gain nothing by the change 
Ave have been discussing. Neither do we desire to 
keep the multitude in darkness; in every section of 
the country the staunch fr'iends of the native Welsh 
are the most zealous and earnest in their efforts to dif- 
fuse general intelligence to all around them. Upon 
the whole wo see no signs of decay and extinction to 
the Welsh language. It is the language of the sanc- 
tuary and the ISabbath-school still. True there is more 
English spoken in Wales than a century ago, but that 
is no marvel. lias not the population greatly multi- 
plied ? the intercourse proportionally increased ? and 
every form of intelligence spread widely in the same 
period ? 

We can recognize but one or two localities on the 
confines of England, however, where the native Welsh 
tongue has lost ground in late years. At times we 
discover it gaining in practice. Some few years ago 
a number — amounting to some hundreds — of Cornish 
miners arrived and settled in Flintshire ; nearly all of 
them now use the Welsh tongue, and many of their 
children hardly know any other. Thus it would ap- 
pear that our venerated mother tongue, Quam vetat 
musa mori, stands in need of no special aid to secure 
its perpetuity. Rendered sacred by the eloquence of 
its Bards, and having survived the shocks of untold 



310 PRESERVATION OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 

generations, and the total extinction of many other 
tongues, its own recuperative strength Avill preserve it 
from extinction. Its coutinuin;r to exist through all 
the vicissitudes and changes of so many ages past, 
proves tliat it contains imperishable elements in its own 
original, essential constitution, and the manner in 
which it has sustained itself against all opposition, 
proves also that, " no fear need be felt that its doom is 
near." It may be fairly presumed that other lan- 
guages received a coeval existence and nurture, till 
they had even attained to old age, in company with 
the Welsli ; but the Welsh had become a hoary-headed 
lady — her bards and sages bald and sightless, ere his- 
tory had hung upon the breasts of modern science and 
erudition, or reclined in the lap of time. A language 
which thus, not only in its youth, but no less in its an- 
tiquity claims veneration, and stretches beyond the 
knowledge of memory, of history, and of man, must 
possess in itself the elements of a self-preserving prin- 
ciple which neither the lapse of ages nor the muta- 
tions of time can eifeet — it must he immortal. 



CONCLUSION. 



In concluding this work on Welsh History, I would 
wish it to be clearly understood that there has nothing 
been Avritten with a view to disparage the character of 
the English or the Anglo Saxon race generally. So 
far from it that I consider them to be in point of 
energy, the first of all the human race ; but of the 
justness of the term Anglo Saxon, as applied to the 
English speaking race, I have great doubts, for the 
Saxons and Angles were only a thin layer, overspread- 
ing the population of England, and keeping them in a 
state of subjection. Such also was the Norman ele- 
ment, overspreading the whole, nevertheless each ac- 
cession of these warlike races gave additional vigor to 
the national character, although it spread disaster and 
violence over the country for a time. The English 
nation had never manifested so much vigour as they 
did under the Tudors, who seem to have been the only 
sovereigns of England since the Norman conquest that 
understood clearly what was the correct policy to 
pursue. 

I have already stated what advantage the English 
derived by the infusion of a Welsh element into the 
population, a people that wished the pope to the Devil 
and held the dogma of the Divine right of kings in 
contempt. Kings were chosen by majority of votes, 
and deposed by the same process when considered un- 
worthy of their office, this accounts for the words of 
Oliver Cromwell who said that he would as soon run 
his sword through a king as any other man. Oliver 
was descended from Welsh ancestors of a princely 
family. It is easy for historians to flatter a numerous 

(311) 



312 CONCLUSION. 

nation, for it will bring grist to their mill in the sale 
of their books. The Scotch writers have found this 
out. But let them trace the history of men connected 
with the Welsh, who by any means have attained a 
high position in other lauds, they will find that almost 
invariably they have discovered much talent and en- 
ergy. They will nowhere discover such a base race as 
the Stuarts. A nation is not accountable for the acts 
of individuals, but when so many instances of talent 
occur from one people, and they few in numbers, it 
ought to exonorate them from the contempt of man- 
kind. 

It is not fair to misrepresent the ancestry of a na- 
tion. We totally deny the impeachment of English 
historians, that our ancestors were driven out of Eng- 
land by the Saxons. Nor are we the descendants of 
the thieving Picts, according to Moore, the Irish histo- 
rian and poet. If there was anything disgraceful in 
the character of these races, let the English and 
Scotch bear it ; the Welsh have enough that is repre- 
hensible without assuming the delinquencies of others. 
It will be found in the Triads, that the Welsh and 
" Wales Paramount," arc always spoken of as having 
a distinct nationality, the people being the descendants 
of the Cymry, who came over the German sea with 
Hu the Mighty. The want of discrimination in this 
matter will spoil any history of the early state of 
Britain. 

Dr. Goldsmith wrote a very attractive history of 
England, but some years ago a man of the name of 
Pinnock made considerable alterations in it, and now 
it is something like a Avork of Michael Angelo, im- 
proved by some common house painter ; and yet this 
is the work now used in schools, both in England and 
the United States. Let any man of sense look at the 
character he gives to Henry the 7th. He makes him 
an undutiful son, a bad husband, an unkind father; 
and every advantage England ever gained from him, 
was the result of his vices. England had suffered 



CONCLUSION. 313 

much from her vicious kings : but it seems in this in- 
stance that vice had become the friend of England. If 
the vices of a Welshman are beneficial to a nation, 
what Tvill be the virtues of a Welshman, but life from 
the dead? 

I do not, however, wonder that other nations form a 
wrong estimate of the Welsh ; their principles have 
never been popular. The slaves in our southern States 
feel additicTnal importance if they are owned by a dis- 
tinguished master. All the honour and advantage the 
common people of England gained by the wars with 
the Welsh, was to be led in great hordes by their 
Saxon and Norman masters, to crush the last germ of 
liberty in Wales. This brought them no advantage, 
as the efforts they made under Jack Cade and Wat 
Tyler, to throw off" the cruel yoke, clearly proves. It 
was not so much by gaining advantages over the Welsh 
that the English gained some portioi) of liberty, but 
by the Welsh giving such a check to the Norman 
power. It was the constant policy of king Henry the 
7th to raise the common people of England, and to 
keep the nobility within proper limits. For this pur- 
pose he fined them for every misdemeanor, by which 
means he put it out of their power to do mischief with- 
out killing them, for he was of all kings the most 
sparing of human blood. The English felt exceedingly 
restive under his government, and often rebelled ; but 
there were men of sense in the nation ; besides that, 
the king was sustained by the whole power of the 
Welsh. During one of the outbreaks in that reign, 
Sir Rice ab Thomas hastened with 1500 horsemen, 
trained and disciplined by himself, and Henry was 
himself "the wise kins;." 

Some of the English writers admit that he hated 
the vassalage in which the people of England were 
held, with perfect hatred. ■• He had been brought up 
in "Wales, where the people were free. Ever since he 
was able to sit in a chair, he had been ia attendance 
at their public and private entertainments where he 
37 



314 CONCLUSION. 

Avas called " the Young Dragon," under which title he 
"was addressed bj the poets, and called upon to rise for 
the deliverance of his country. A dragon is a stand- 
ing title for a prince or king in Wales, especially 
among the bards. It is somewhat extraordinary that 
such a writer as Macaulay is at a loss to account for the 
conduct of the English in rallying under a bastard 
race. I have given the reason, a very cogent reason 
too, sustained by the finest army in Europe of its 
numbers, and not " the scum of England and the rab- 
ble of Brittany." It was this that began to raise 
England to its present power. Henry Tudor had im- 
bibed a taste for learning in Wales, by associating with 
the poets and literati. Tudur Aled, poet Laureate to 
Jasper Tudor, his uncle, was one of the most distin- 
guished poets that Wales ever produced. On looking 
over some old Welsh Magazines, in my possession some 
time ago, I saw a piece of poetry by Tudur Aled, on 
our Saviour as the great teacher. That gave me great 
pleasure, for it seemed to indicate, in some degree, the 
cause that led the Tudors to treat the pope so cava- 
lierly. They knew there was a better teacher ; hence 
it was that the first time he offended a Tudor, his au- 
thority was denied and abolished in England. 

On a genei'al view of the history of Wales, one of 
its most prominent features is the popular power every- 
where manifest in Church and State. The order of 
cWrch government is very clearly revealed in the New 
Testament, but all nations have formed what they call 
-churches in imitation of their civil governments from 
the papacy, which was in conformity to the despotic 
imperial power of Rome, to the Baptists, which is as 
near as need be, a fac simile of the Welsh government, 
where all men, whose beards ivere grown, and all 
married women, had the •elective franchise, and 
governed even kings by their votes. Faith and re- 
pentance being the needful qualification in the one 
case, as the beard and marriage in the other, but in 
each the authority is in the people, "for in the term 



CONCLUSION. . 315 

Welshman is included Welsh woman." Here is the 
grand cause of maintaining the truth in AVales. The 
introduction of any other power beside that of the 
people was an innovation upon Welsh principles, while 
in other nations despotic poAver was the order of the 
(lay; remove the external pressure and the Welsh 
iiiiturally reverted to their favorite theory of congregar 
tional order, where the power of the people is para- 
mount, and republicanism is sufe to follow in its train. 
In an article on the moral and social condition of 
Wales, in Blackwood's Magazine for September, 1849, 
it is asserted (to the evid-ent horror of the writer), 
that nine-tenths of the Welsh are republicans, as the 
natural result of their church order, wJiich is generally 
and almost exclusively Congregational, llad the 
Welsh been as numerous as the Irish, I have no doubt, 
that the great Christopher North would have died from 
horror, as one republican is generally as good as three 
or four of the minions of kings. I might eulogize on the 
military prowess of the Welsh in former ages, but war 
is a revolting subject, ray only object beijig to prove 
that in consigning tho care of the church to the Welsh, 
divine wisdom is raajiifcst, for in this instance, and 
this alone, in past ages, tlie fiercest nation in Europe 
protected the humble followers of our Redeemer, the 
lions became the protectors and guardians of the flock 
of Christ, while in all other lands the wolves tore them 
to pieces, for in the fierce nature of the Welsh there 
was a trait of nobility that would not impose upon the 
virtuous and helpless.. This feature is inore prominent 
at the present time in the Welsh than any other people 
in Europe, this is the reason why we never witness 
any destitution among the Welsh emigrants on first 
landing in this country, for they never send over any 
helpless people, these they take care of at home, Vt^hile 
they are always ready to aid families Avho they sup- 
pose Avill be able to help themselves in the new world. 
This aid is always given on the score of kindness, for 
the Welsh would disdain the thought of throwing a 



316 CONCLUSION. 

burden upon another nation. There is more regard to 
national character among the Welsh than other nations 
of Europe. All other nations are glad to throw the 
dregs oF their population upon the United States. 
The Welsh will not aid any man to emigrate that has 
lost the reputation of an industrious man, they argue 
in their parish meetings, in remote sections, that to 
send persons of bad or doubtful character upon another 
independent nation, is a gross insult and a just cause 
of war. Is there any greater evidence Avanted to 
prove the nobleness of national cluxracter than the fact 
of cherishing freedom of thought and action on the 
subject of religion ? If this is not true nobility I must 
confess that my estimates are all wrong, for this is the 
very trait of national character that so much endears 
in my mind the liistory of Wales, and it is this that I 
most admire in the United States. My great aspira- 
tions have been to bring the laws of this country into 
conformity with another feature of Welsh institutions, 
in relation to natural right in land. Wales allowed a 
homestead of five acres, and five more in numerous 
cases on the ground of merit. Let the Americans 
grant each family thirty acres, and their splendid 
government will continue while time endures. If men's 
natural right to a home on the earth is disregarded, it 
will not be many generations before multitudes of 
houseless vagabonds will be found ready to join in 
support of any leader who will furnish them with food 
and clothing, for hunger will banish every consideration 
of liberty or patriotism ; " oppression makes a wise 
man mad," how much more so the comparatively 
ignorant and vicious ? These improvements in the 
social condition of the human race have engaged my 
mind from early life ; they have been my ruling passion, 
but whether I shall live to see them brought into active 
life or not, is a matter of comparatively small personal 
interest to me, if my name is written in the book of 
life. The hope that the ]iropensity of men to imita- 
tion, and the well known fact that the American mind 



CONCLUtJION. 317 

is wide awake for any real improvement in the physical, 
social, or moral condition of* men has been with mo a 
great inducement to lay hcforc; the reader these ancient 
Welsh institutions, whicii worked so beneficially for 
a period of eighteen hundred years, and have only 
been superseded by the English laws three hundred 
and eight years. 
27 * 



HABILIMENTS AND ARMS 



ANCIENT BrvITONS, OVx WELSH. 



A COMPLETE kiiowlctlgo of tho liabilimcnts and im- 
plements of war of tho AYclsh in tho early ages, 
■\vould doubtless bo interesting and instructive. It 
would be interesting because exhibiting the changes 
whicli a succession of ages produce ; and instructive, 
by showing the progress, tho improvement, and the 
diligent study of the sciences and the arts. It maybe 
very tliilicult, nay impossible, for us to obtain a thorough 
knowledge of these matters, because of the silence of 
history in general on the subject ; wo will, however 
present some facts, testified by credible writers upon 
the subject, who have written of the dress and battle- 
arms of the early Welsh. AVo find the earliest men- 
tion of the dress of the Britons in the works of Julius 
Gaidar ; and his language is, " They clothe themselves 
with skins, and paint their bodies with the juice of 
some plant of a blue colour, by which they render 
their appearance in war very terrible. They let their 
hair grow long, but permit the beard only on tho upper 
lip." Their war instrument, he proceeds to say, " was 
the dart, which they throw with unerring aim from their 
war-chariots into the ranks of their enemies ; to this 
they added a short spear for their infantr}'-, and at the 
lower end was appended a bell, which they used 
to clang in concert and with violence when they 
went to battle, intending by this to strike terror into 
their enemies." Ccesar further informs us, that he 
found two quite different kinds of inhabitants in Britain. 
(318) 



ARMS OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 319 

Those inhabiting the eastern coast, Kent, Sussex, &c., 
(with whom ho seems also to have been best acquainted,) 
being far a<Ivance(,l in civilization and culture over those 
who inhabited the interior of the country. Strabo 
speaks of the more civilized portions of the aborigines, 
probably inhabiting Kent, Devonshire and Cornwall, 
that they attired themselves in long black vestments, 
reaching to their ankles. Doubts have been enter- 
tained,, whether it was a common custom with our an- 
cestors, the Welsh, to stain their bodies or not. Some 
maintain it was customary with them in war only : 
others, that the custom was practised at their festivals, 
and on other similar occasions. Pliny has averred, that 
at their festivals they imitated the Ethiopian in colour, 
and went naked, together with th,eir wives and children, 
to the performance of their religious rites. 

Some authors have asserted that the custom of paint- 
ing their bodies became more common among them 
after the arrival of Julius Caesar in Britain. Such 
assertion* may have no f<nmdation, other than that the 
Komans became more acquainted with them, and with 
their manners and customs, than they could at first have 
been, after residing among them on the island a few 
years. Others again suppose it actually became 
more customary to stain their bodies, as described, after 
the landing of Cocsar ; and that for the purpose of inspir- 
ing their conquerors with terror ! It has been supposed 
this staining could be removed by washing ; but it is 
more probable it was done by scarifying the parts, as 
is done by the islanders of New Zealand and the Pacific 
Ocean, in our own times. Tacitus, a lloman historiar), 
born in the reign of Nero, speaking of the Britons, 
says, " They arm themselves with heavy swords and 
light shields, under which they shelter their bodies 
from the darts of the Romans." Roman historians of 
the time tell us tha,t the chiefs of the Britons Avore 
long garments prior to the birth of Christ, (see Varro,) 
of hairy, ponderous material : but llerodian, speaking 
of the common people, says they wenf naked, wore 



3*20 IIAIULIMIONTS AjND ARMS 

iron rings u|)on (lieir necks, and round their waists, 
considoriiig these as ornaments ; they also drew rudo 
li<j;ures of wihl, ravenous heasts on various parts of 
their bodies. It has been suj)posed, also, th:it they went 
njiked, not wishing to covcu* these figures, whieh in 
their view fornuMl their greatest beauty. It has been 
further suggested, that these rude ligurcs were imprinted 
on their children while young by the process of burning, 
and then employing the coloring materials, thus fixing 
it for life. Speed, in his '^ Chronicle," speaking of tho 
bringing of (Jaradoc before Augustus Oivsar, says he 
])resented himself thus — ^"Is'early the whole of his 
body was nuirked with variously formed animals in dif- 
ferent colors, an iron chain hung on his neck, and an- 
other round his middle — his hair was long and curly 
— his beard, unshaven only on the upper lip, hung 
])arted gracefully on his breast. " The same writer dc- 
serib(\s the (puMMi, Hiidding, thus, '' She wore a blue 
nuintle, of variegated colors, over her other garments ; 
her hair reiiched below her waist, she had a chain of 
gold on her neck, and a short spear or dart in hor 
hand." ]\[r. Whitaker, in his History of INIanchostor, 
says the Welsh never adopted tho Jlonuin style of head- 
dress, but always continmnl to wear their own forms 
of hats and ca})s, forms handed down to us upon an- 
cient coins of seventeen hundred years coinage — and 
their nuike is not very unlike those of Wales of modern 
times. When tho island had become entirely sid)dued 
by the lloman power under Agricola, tho Britons 
began to imitate their Ivonnin conquerors in many of 
their customs ; and among others, in their modes of 
dress. The Hruiils, the l>aiils, and the Dvates, however, 
retaintnl their p(>culiar habiliments. The\^ ])ermitted 
the beard to grow to their waist : they a])peared abroad 
in a flowing mantle, with capacious sleeves, and in 
their hands a stall", of seven or eight feet long, grasped 
by them, in tho middle. 'J'he Druid's dress Avas always 
"white, emblematical of their sanctity and their zeal 
for the truth,, considering it also the color of light and 



OF THE ANCIENT BUTTONS. 321 

of the sun. The Bards were habited in blue ; they con- 
sidered this color the emblem of peace, and also of truth 
and sincei'ity ; tlius tliey would wear nothing of mingled 
colors. Tlio garb of the Ovates was green, represent- 
ing the earth, the contemplation and study of which 
they made their principal employ. The disciples, or 
schohirs, wore garments blending all the three colors 
we have noted above. It would appear that the first 
arrival of the Saxons effected little or nothing in the 
modes of dress of our Welsh ancestors, and this, 
mainly, because the Britons held them in contempt, to- 
gether with their manners and customs, on account of 
their deceit and treachery. Aneurin, an author of 
celebrity in the early part of the sixth century, in his 
poem, the Gfododin, states that in his time the chiefs 
and warriors of the Welsh Britons wore chains of gold 
as ornaments about their necks, to which lilywarcli 
Hen, a poet of some few years later date, attests. lie 
also says: Awful and fierce appears the horseman, in 
chains of silver and gold. So late as 1G1)2 one of 
these chains was dug out of the earth, in a garden 
near Harlech castle, in North Wales. It measured 
four feet in length, and weighed eight ounces. It is now 
in the family of lord Mostyn, of Mostyn, in Flintshire, 
N. W. The very earliest ruler, or reigning monarch, 
of the Britons, or Welsh, is said to have been named 
Jji/wfwal Moelnmd, and the time of his living, four- 
teen hundred and thirty years prior to the Christian era. 
It is recorded that he was the first who wore a golden 
crown in Britain. In the laws of " Ilowel the Good, " 
notice is taken of the prices of various articles of dress, 
and the most noted are the brycan, the mantle, and 
the breech. The prices of various ornaments in use 
are given in the same laws ; many of these were dis- 
covered some years ago on opening some old tumuli 
on Salisbui-y plain. ()thers have been brought to light 
in various parts of the country. In an old copy of 
the same work, made about the twelfth century, which 
belonged to the noted Edward Llwyd the antiquary, 



322 HABILIMENTS AND ARMS 

is seetj a representation of a king, or chieftain, sitting 
in judgment, attended bj the nobles, the elders and 
officers of his courts 

In this representation the king is shown attired 
in a mantle with long flowing sleeves, decorated with 
various trappings as ornaments. The mantle is open 
from the sleeves down on both sides ; the head-dress 
displays some costly stones set in it, and a cross sur- 
mounting all! The nobles and elders wear long gar- 
ments, with sleeves of ample width, reaching to the el- 
bows ; thence to the wrists are seen close-fitting sleeves, 
tightly grasping the arm. The judges appear in man- 
tles of loose capacious dimensions, closely bound round 
the neck, with openings in the sides through which the 
arms appear, and small caps, as a covering for the 
head. The priests appear in a monkish attire, their 
heads shaven on the top. The lawyers and pleaders 
are attired similarly with the judges, but have no cap. 
The plaintiff and defendant appear in the ordinary 
dress of the country ; one of the sheriffs wears a short 
skirted dress, scarcely reaching to the knee ; the 
other a flowing mantle, and very ample sleeves. A 
likeness of Pabo Post Prydain, who lived about the 
end of the fifth century, may yet be seen in the church- 
yard of Llanbabo, in Anglesea, attired in his kingly 
dress. It is gathered closely about the neck, and is 
made to button before, or in front, all the way down. 
It has two openings for the play of the arms, surround- 
ing which, as well as around the neck-band, are de- 
corations of costly stones ; the borders are also beau- 
tifully ornamented with furs. Under this appears 
another garment ; the sleeves are made in this to button 
tightly to the arm down to the elbow. In his hand 
he holds a sceptre, surmounted by a flower ; his crown 
appears to be of gold adorned with pearls, the upper 
rim with flowers. 

A statue of Rhys ap Gruff^'^dd, in Saint Davids, 
Pembrokeshire, who died in 1196, is habited in the 
following manner — a helmet of foreign construction, 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 323 

tapering upwards, and not concealing the face, is worn 
on his head ; a net- work of iron protects the shoulders. 
Below this the breast-plate, bearing the image of a 
lion upon it, around the whole a gorgeous belt, on 
which suspends a long sword ; his thighs, legs and feet, 
are covered Avith plates of iron. David ap Gwilim, who 
lived about the year 1400, describes his own dress as 
being a trowsers and jacket, a belt around the waist, 
to which he hung a ponderous sword, and over all was 
a loose mantle bound with furs, and a trencher hat on 
his head. A monumental stone in the prioi'y church of 
Carmarthen exhibits the famed knight, Sir Rhys ap 
Thomas and his wife in the costume of their times. 
His hair is in flowing curls on his shoulders, a collar, 
composed of iron, on his neck ; his shield displays va- 
rious implements of war engraven on it, his arms and 
legs are wholly protected by plates of iron, and over the 
whole a mantle or cloak. His lady appears dressed 
in the fashion of Enghsh ladies of that period. She 
has a cap, of four cornered shape, and a chain about 
her neck. Her outer garment or gown is short, (a la 
Bloomer,) not reaching over the petticoat, and ia 
bound round the waist by a golden band, the ends of 
which extend below the knee in front ; over all she 
wears a mantle with flowing sleeves. From that time 
the higher classes in Wales have assimilated in dress 
to the English fashions ; though in the mountainous 
regions, and in the rural districts, they long adhered 
to their ancient modes ; and even yet, in some parts of 
the country, as any traveller who has visited Wales 
may have observed, they cling to some of their ancient 
customs, their dress not diflerering greatly from what 
it was several generations past : change, however, is 
slowly but gradually working its way, and the simpli- 
city, neatness, and economy of their russet, their flan- 
nel, and their bombast a gtvlan, their favorite cotton and 
Avoollen material, of which their Sunday and holiday- 
dress used to bo always formed, these are slowly yield- 
ing their hold to the gayer fabrics of Manchester, of 



324 HABILIMENTS AND ARMS 

Spital Fields, and other foreign articles of luxury and 
show. 

A few observations Avill be necessary in relation to 
the term slave, as it is used in the Triads. It does not 
appear that there was any system of slavery in Wales, 
because the law is laid down that all men had a right 
in three things, their wives, their children, and their 
movable goods. Nevertheless there Avere three sorts 
of men considered in relation to privileges; the first iu 
dignity were native Cumry of pure blood, being free 
from all foreign mixture — these were all entitled by 
natural right to five free acres of land, &c., they were 
also, in point of native dignity, equal to the prince, 
unless it was forfeited by crime. 

The second class were native born men, wlio wei-e 
sons of foreign fathers, and of native women of pure 
blood, who had married with the consent of their tribe 
or clan ; these had certain privileges through the mother, 
and the fruit of the third successive marriage, called 
" the fourth man" of the alien, was a full citizen, and 
became tlie head of his clan ; these were called citizens 
by privilege, but were equal Avith men of pure blood 
in all rights and privileges. 

The third and loAvest order were foreigners, and their 
descendants till the ninth generation, for so long it took 
foreigners to obtain citizenship in Wales, unless they 
intermarried with natives, Avhich I suspect Avas not 
very common on account of the pride of blood among 
the Welsh — tliese persons Avere not allowed to reside 
at all in Wales, except they could get a ])atron among 
the Avealthy to whom they had to swear allegiance, and 
Avere employed as farmers and gardeners, .and in other 
services ; they Avere not called upon to do military 
services, because it Avas not just to compel a man to 
jeopardize his life to protect the property of others. 
Such Avas the hiAv, but if the foreigner of his oavu accord 
took up the sword, he Avas entitled to the privilege of a 
brudd. The Avord used by the translator for brudd is, 
fcehle one, but I think improperly. Humble one would 



OF THE ANCIENT BRITON.*. .325 

be nearer the original, as he was still below a citizen. 
The descendants of criminals were also placed in the 
state of aliens. Although these terms were hard, still 
it appears that numbers came, probably on account of 
security for themselves and families, under the protec- 
tion of the warlike race who occupied that " Stony 
Paradise." 

If at any time they considered themselves oppressed 
by their patrons, they had a right to seek the protec- 
tion of another chief, who was bound to see their wrongs 
redressed, and no hue and cry could be raised against 
them when they went to seek protection. The Welsh 
of former ages were notorious for writing romances, 
which were called tales for the entertainment of youth ; 
they were founded upon real characters, many of them 
are on Arthur and his knights. These Welsh romances 
were translated into many languages, so that wheA the 
crusaders went to Palestine they found that the tale of 
Arthur and other Welsh heroes were well known in 
that part of Asia. The Saxons, and some of the north- 
ern princes who inhabited Scotland, were described 
as cannibals. In the composition of the triads of 
history these romances were taken for true history; 
Besides this the Welsh were fond of figurative language, 
which throws more confusion on the historical triads. 
Nevertheless the triads, especially the more ancient, 
bring to light some things of great interest, and bear on 
their face evidence of authenticity. They also agree 
in many instances with Roman and other histories. Those 
triads that speak of cannibalism, and the two brown 
birds of Gwenddolen to whom two youths, a male and 
female, were given for their dinner, and two more for 
their supper, may be considered to be something like 
the nursery tale of Blue Beard as to truth. However, 
Gwenddolen was a real character, a prince who reigned 
in some part of Scotland, and was a persecutor of the 
Christians. About the year 570, Rhydderch, surnamed 
the Generous, Prince of Stradclyde, invaded his ten-ito- 
iries with a view to compel him to desist from perse- 
28 



326 HABILIMENTS OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 

cution, and killed him in battle. Rhydderch was one 
of the surviving!; connnandevs of kinfj; Arthur. This war 
occurred about 28 or oO years after the death of 
Arthur. Such a persecutor Avas sure to be held in 
great execration by the Welsh romance writers, be- 
cause it was difficult for them to conceive of any 
criminality in religious belief, therefore to put a man 
to death ibr his religious opinions was considered in 
Wales quite as bad as if a man was killed for feeding 
the hungry, or clothing the naked. The bitterest 
complaint made by the last Llewelin agninst the English 
in the time of Edward the first, was that they had 
killed some religious persons in his dominions. This 
tender care of religious people throughout all ages 
will be an everlasting honour to the character of the 
Welsh. Future ages will view their national history, as 
the greenest spot in human annals, and their pride of 
blood is a standing refutation of the story told by English 
writers that they have been made up of odds and ends, 
and by fugitives from various other regions. There was 
no way for fugitives from Saxon valour and cruelty to 
get into AVales, unless they could conquer a people 
who had set the power of imperial Rome at defiance, 
as the laws of Wales were made for the purpose of 
preventing foreigners from settling among them, lest 
they should betray them, and take away the land of 
the Cumry. It was this strictness that preserved their 
language and national identity, and with these the 
knowledge of gospel truth. 



THE END. 



4 



NOV -i '■'J'''* 



